A Love so Scarred
by Recipe4Chaos
Summary: Bella was still wounded over Edward's leave and couldn't face the sourse of her pain. Warren was just looking for a way out of her past and inner deamons. What happens when these two broken souls meet? Bella/OC Femslash Don't like don't read! Rated M
1. the Bar

Hey guys, this is my first girl on girl Fanfic so go easy on me please! Comments of all kinds are welcome, exept flamers, i don't like them very much so refrain from doing those.

Also to clarify I don't own Twilight it belongs to Stephenie Meyer i only own my OC Warren. If i did things would be VERY diffrent...

Warren: *glares murderously* Who says you own me?

Me: Um I created you...so I do own you.

Warren: We'll see about that.

Me:*Sweat drops* Okayyy...anyway...enjoy the story!

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Once again I found myself alone at the counter, loud techno music racking at the inside of my skull and an unfortunately empty shot glass held loosely in my hand. I was barely in Port Angels for a few days and I was already drinking my way to a alcohol-induced comatose. Technically I wasn't supposed to be drinking being nineteen and all. Not that the rules of the human world applied to me, since I was a werepanther, but the bartender handed me a decent amount of whiskey to get a nice buzz going for me. Besides the fact that I obviously looked depressed I think she had a thing for me too, but she'd have to wait in line behind all the other were-woman wanting a piece of me. Not like a gave two shits bout any of 'em, I didn't see what they saw in a loner like me. Fuck I wish I wasn't so damn cold all the time. It was all her fault, that lying player. I loved the bitch with all my heart and then she had the nerve to walk away from me to be with some stupid werelion her parents picked out for her. "It was just a phase Warren, we were just being rebellious. There was nothing special between us anyway." How could she say that to my face? All the times we spent together, holding each other, talking about our future, she called it nothing. Well it wasn't nothing to me. That liar, such a beautiful damn liar and I believed every word that came from those plump manipulative lips.

The worst part? She used me. Yep, she wasn't who she said she was and played me like a damn violin. All she wanted was to get to my power, since I was the Alpha Female of one of the largest feline packs in the United States. Or used to be anyway, I gave the title away to my brother awhile back. I said nothing to that bitch the day she broke up with me, oh believe me there was shit to be said but I just watched silently as she walked over to that other bastard's car without so much as an apology for the pain and suffering I endured for her, for us. Or at least I thought I was for us anyway. It's been over two years now since then and I still can't stop thinking about it. It seems to kill me a little more each day and there's nothing I can do to stop it. She ruined me. I used to be so open minded, creative, kind, and loving. A true leader and a committed lover. Now I'm not capable of feeling anything anymore, and she's to blame for it.

I'd do anything to make this hurt go away…just to finally be free of it. If I went to my apartment right now, dug around in my closet a little for my old silver colt .45, it would take not even a minute to load it up and-"Hey kitty, you alright over here all by yourself?" The bartender sauntered over and leaned over the counter towards me, her scoop neck lavender top giving me a perfect view of her breasts. I'm not interested in her flirting and choose not to answer, she didn't fall in my type of woman anyway, she'd drop me like a hat the moment another woman caught her eye. She seemed to get the message and retreated. Her almond shaped eyes glinted in slight irritation at my lack of interest towards her. It'd be gone when someone else came up to get a drink. She froze and stared straight ahead. "Well hello," She purred. "That is one hot piece of female." She takes my glass and I swivel over to see what she's talking about, a teenager, no more then probably eighteen, just walked in from the rain storm outside. Forks, still famous for its crappy weather.

This mysterious woman was a porcelain skinned goddess with amazing chocolate eyes. She wore a v neck sweater and dark skinny jeans, casual yet highly sexy by my standards. Now this fell into my type. By the look on her face, I automatically guessed she was not familiar with lesbian clubs, or even knew she was in one. I could tell straight away she wasn't a shifter of any kind either, or a vampire. She was human and most likely in a lot of trouble if anyone else noticed too. "There's always one." I commented under my breath. The bartender laughed to herself as I got up to aid the new comer, lucky me she didn't notice she was a human too. Then again no one was as skilled as I was at analyzing either. As I approached the brown-eyed beauty took me in, every inch of my body her eyes scanned. Needless to say I took this as a good sign. "May I be of any assistance?" She looked at me with curiosity, scrutinizing me very closely like she could read me. I guess it was partly because of my style, long mega dark red hair reaching the small of my back in assorted braids and dreads all kept neatly pulled back and under a black baseball cap. As for the attire I chose to wear a lace up leather bustier and a full length arm warmer on my right arm. Usual outing cloths for me, it said "hey, I'm a sexy cat but mess with me and I'll lay you the fuck out". This outfit was especially good at showing off my marks to other Shifters, one look and nine times outta ten they back off. They were mostly claw marks, the one that really showed I was a true fighter though was the three marks crossing my face. They were the ones that made you think twice about what you say to me. "Uh, yeah I think I got the wrong place." The girl admitted quietly, then added she was supposed to meet her friends at a different club. She obviously didn't want to go in the first place by the looks of it. Pushy friends. "You might as well stay," I told her. More to get to know her better then anything else, besides it was pouring outside and there was no way I'd let her walk out there alone with all the creeps roaming around. "Other places will be either packed or closed by now. And the weather is just gonna get shittier anyway." A flicker of wonder shone on her face as she looked passed me momentarily and saw all the women grinding and swaying to the music on the dance floor. The primal energy coming off of them was enough to power the whole city for weeks, although I was more sensitive to it then she was. What would I give to be doing that with her… a pang of hurt kept me from doing so.

"How bout I buy you a hot drink? You look freezing." She nodded and padded behind me as I found a secluded table in the back and ordered two coffees, one black and one with cream and sugar. I bet you expected me to order milk didn't you? "I'm Warren by the way." I said sliding in the bench across from her, I held my hand across the table to properly introduce myself, retracting my claws so as to better appear human. Her small hand fit in my calloused one perfectly. "Bella." Bella, Italian for beautiful. What a perfect name for this woman. "Mind if I ask what your doing on this wonderful Friday night?" Bella took a generous sip of her drink and slipped a few wet strands of her hair behind her ear. "My friends from school are trying to get me out and about. I haven't really been myself lately." Her tone of voice changed as she said this, softer and far off, slightly pain filled. I rested my arms on the table. "Any particular reason why?" She fell silent and dipped her head in the opposite direction, I knew that look all too well. "Ah, okay off limits topic. I got ya." I tried smiling but I knew it looked kinda funny, whenever I smiled only one side pulled up and it looked lopsided. But it was totally worth it to see the grin slowly grow on her perfectly succulent lips. Something told me there was something hidden inside her somewhere, just bellow the surface and waiting for something, or someone, to break it. Bella almost resembled me, her eyes looked absent of almost everything and she looked drained, both emotionally and physically. I was better now of course, well to some extent considering my mental breakdown a few moments ago. I had a fuckin long way to go still. "Hey, what's that?" My eyes snapped to her hands as she pulled my arm out, tracing her fingers slowly over the tattooed skin on the inside of my forearm. I suppressed a shiver from her light touch. "_Carpe Noctem,_" I breathed. "Latin for seize the night." I held up my other arm, which was covered in a black arm warmer. "This one says _Carpe diem, _orseize the day. Their pretty much my personal quotes." She paid attention closely, drinking in my words as if she were thirsty for more. "So, you like, show the seize the day one during the day and the other one at night. Why?" My voice softened a little. "To remind myself never to let my problems keep me from living my life, the road we travel on is not always easy babe but it ain't long for some people. So I show them to everyone I meet in hopes that they can embrace the time they do have here with all their loved ones like I am. It's one of the reasons why I'm here actually." She leaned closer. "You don't live here?" I downed half my coffee in two chugs and nodded. "I used to a few years back. But then some family issues came up an the next thing I know, my parents split and I'm in Manhattan struggling for a good education. Right now I'm trying to jump start my art business, but you how it is for a high school student to get noticed now a days." My eyes shifted down Bella's sweater, when she leaned over the table the v on her sweater lowered to give me a nice peak at her cleavage. Quickly I looked out the window at the rain drops rolling down the window pane. Damn this beautiful girl, damn her for effecting me like this. I was ready to slam her against the nearest wall and kiss her to an oblivion. But that would probably not be the best first impression though.

"My older brother is moving to the La Push reservation so he gave me his loft to use as an apartment, slash studio to help me out. He knows I like my privacy." I noted absently to myself, then chuckled. "How ironic, a struggling artist trying to get herself noticed in an age where no one appreciates her work, let alone care." Her head tilted to the side in the most adorable way. "Why would you say that?" Well I've already given her an outline of my life, might as well let her see the whole picture or at least a larger portion, without the fact that I'm a werepanther with an attraction towards her of course. I shifted to stare at her, watching her face closely. "When I moved to Manhattan my mother and I were struggling to get by, dad has been off on tour in the military for the past couple of years now. Anyway, she had to work two or more jobs just to keep our town house running. From the time I entered middle school I already started working towards a career in the arts, my mom went ballistic saying I was setting myself up for failure and I was never going to get anywhere in my life. She reminded me constantly that I was such a disappointment to her and that I was her worst mistake."

I left out the part where she found out I was a lesbian by walking in on me kissing the pizza girl. A small smile grace my lips as I remembered watching a few lesbian flicks one night, thanks to dad letting me use his credit card because unlike mom he understood me, and ordering pizza because my mom was working the night shift yet again. One thing lead to another and we were making out on the couch when she barged in. The look on her face was absolutely priceless. And the fact that she wanted me to get mated off with the leader of a nearby Pride for protection and what she called "my duty to my bloodline" went up in smoke, but much to my relief we didn't want to go through with it so we ended up becoming close friends instead. The funny part was we both ended up being gay. "After about seven years of hell on earth I got a call from my bro the other day asking if I'd like to come live here for awhile, I packed my things the next day and here I am." She smiled. "Your brother sounds like a nice guy." She had no idea how right she was. That call saved my life, not only did Gabe keep me from snapping mom's neck, he gave me a chance to wipe my slate, start fresh and live a decent life. A better life. My recent break up had me at the ends of my rope and my mom wasn't making it any better by screeching at me about my homosexuality and the fact that I didn't want anything to do with being an alpha anymore. "How can you do this to me? Is this because I won't let you chase your worthless dreams? Well it isn't going to work you selfish bitch!" That was just one of the thousands of comments she made at me, all the while I just stood there, teeth gritted together and firmly planted to my beliefs. I couldn't change, and I wasn't about to either. Not for anyone and certainly not for her. "Are you still in school?" Bella asked, she had a glint of hope in her eyes as she said this. "Actually yeah. Gabe, my older brother, he got me into a nearby district. I start Monday." In the back of my mind I was hoping she was in the same district, but I knew that chance was slim.

I glanced at the clock above the bar, 8:57. "I don't know about you Bella, but this bar scene is starting to loose interest with me." Her eyes darted towards the dance floor, then back at me. "Yeah, it's starting to get crowded in here." I helped her up and held the door open for her as we exited the bar, picking up our pace when we realized the weather hadn't picked up since she entered. "My place is just a around the corner, we can take cover there. Or at least let me grab you a hoodie or something. It's the least I could do." I took off my hat and yanked it onto her head, some protection from the weather was better then none in my opinion. Its not like she could see my face anyway, which was what I was working to prevent at any costs. "Sounds like a plan to me." She pulled my hat closer to her face. Without even thinking twice I grabbed her hand and we raced down the street, it almost felt as if I was walking on air with her by my side.

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Please Review and Comment! I'd love to hear what everyone thinks


	2. Unknown Feelings

I don't own Twilight it belongs to Stephenie Meyer i only own my OC Warren.

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Bella's P.O.V. 

Alright, I had to admit I was enjoying myself a little bit. I mean I was allowed that right? Was I supposed to have fun after months of agonizing heartache? Warren had to be the most understanding person I've ever met, when she came close to touching my problem zone she immediately backed off, no questions, no explanations. It was as if she saw my pain and knew I needed my space. She was a complete stranger and yet she was empathetic. It was nice, she was nice. But the never ending down pour dampened my spirits ever so slightly.

"Come on! It's just a little farther!" Warren urged. Lucky me I was wearing her hat, because I was blushing so badly from her grabbing my hand, so gentle yet she held it firmly enough to keep me up with her fast pace. It seemed as if we were gliding across the sidewalk. It almost reminded me of…no! I would not think about him, not now. Not while I was with her. He wouldn't ruin my one chance at a great time. Sooner then I expected we were inside an apartment complex and fleeing up a flight of stairs laughing, and at what I had no idea. It felt good to feel like this, so alive, carefree and practically weightless.

"Uh, lets see…658...659...666...nah I'm kidding, I'm in room 205." She dropped my hand and fished in her jean pocket, pulled out a set of keys, and unlocked her front door. I made a mental note of the door number and followed her inside. "Man, I almost forgot about the damn rain here!" Warren let down her hair and shook it out, water droplets sprayed everywhere including on me. Her eyes landed on me and widened. "Whoops, sorry bout that." She walked a little further in then opened a small closet to her right, pulling out a sweat shirt and pants and handing it to me. "Bathroom's though the living room and down the hall. Feel free to make yourself at home." I managed to mumble a quick thank you before I left to go change out of my now soaked cloths.

The bathroom wasn't hard to find, the door was open. It actually surprised me to see how large it was, white walls, black cabinets with a white marble counter top, and silver accenting. Very sleek and modern. I stripped off my cloths and pulled on the sweats Warren gave me, they were surprisingly very comfy. A door creaked open down the hall somewhere and out of curiosity I padded out towards it. The door was diagonal from the bathroom and painted with a intricate spiraling vine-like design. The door was ajar and I noticed Warren was inside, wiggling out of her leather top and tossing it on the bed.

I let in a short intake of breath at the sight, the dim lighting of the room clearly shone every contour of her body, her slightly broad shoulders, the smooth muscles of her back, the sway of her small hips as she pulled off her jeans... My stomach started tying itself into a tight knot the longer I stared at this strangely fascinating woman. But I couldn't stop, my eyes wouldn't look away from her. It was as if there was this invisible pull, like thousands of strings pulling trying to pull my body into the darken space of her bedroom. I wanted nothing more then to just walk in and touch that smooth lightly bronzed skin and feel it under my fingertips. My fingers were already curling with the thought. I swore my heart jumped in my throat as her own fingers reached behind her to unclasp her bra, I finally managed to break away and dart towards the living room.

It was much like the bathroom, white walls, black sectional and entertainment system, and a round coffee table with an inlay of a fierce looking feline. Magnificent artwork covered the walls and sculptures of all shapes and sizes decorated the shelves and corners of the space. They all looked African in origin, or inspired sense I've never seen anything like it. It was all breathtaking, I wondered where she got it all. "Do you like it? Most of it is from my father when he went on tour to different countries." I almost practically jumped out of my skin at the sound of Warren's voice, spinning around on my heel I saw she was now clothed in a grey thermal and a lighter pair of jeans and a another black baseball cap. "Um…yeah. I mean, this room is amazing." She smiled a lopsided grin just like the one at the club, I couldn't help but find it one of her most attractive features. Oh wait, did I just say she was attractive? "Believe it or not, I redesigned this whole apartment as soon as Gabe left and made most the artwork myself. Gives it a more cozy home feeling." She said, looking around and smiling proudly. It wasn't hard to imagine this was all her doing, she looked like the type of person who had her own way of doing things.

"You really should start a business, your art is fantastic." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Your one of the rare few of people who actually look like you appreciate my work and are sincere in their thanks towards it." When she tilted her head to acknowledge my statement, the light caught her face in such a way that I noticed her eyes, or at least one of them, were the most stunning deep emerald I've ever seen, it almost turned to liquid as she gazed at me. "Well you got two choices here Bella, I can drive you home now if your ready to go," Her eyes broke away to stare out a large window, her gaze dropping to the hard wood floor. "Or you can spend the night here, whatever you want it's up to you." At least she was giving me choices, not like it made it any easier for me. My chest tightened at my options, if she drove me home there was a chance I'd never see her again, and I couldn't let that happen. I've never felt like this and I was not about to give it up just yet. But if I stayed…well I really didn't know what would happen. This night with Warren was new to me in more ways then one.

A sudden burst of light and sound snapped me from my thoughts and I found myself being steadied by strong arms. "Easy there babe, your gonna hurt yourself." Warren mumbled in my ear. I suppressed a shiver and took a few deep breaths and unwillingly pulled away from her embrace. "If, if you could drive me home that'd be nice. Charlie is probably flipping out by know." At her arched eyebrow I elaborated. "My dad, he worries a lot when I go out." She smirked. "Fathers usually do when it comes to their daughters, you're an only child I'm guessing?" I nodded, slightly surprised. "Then take what I just said and put it to the hundredth power." My eyes trained on her hips as she made her way towards the door and grabbed a set of keys. It looked as if she moved like a jungle cat, every step lithe and graceful but full of power. "Come on, Jeep's out back."

We hurried our way down the stairs and over to an abandoned building next door to a beautiful copper colored jeep wrangler, along with a ruby red sports bike and a cobalt blue ATV. "She's a nice piece of work huh?" Warren trailed her fingers over the hood of the jeep. "Unfortunately I usually travel by foot to get where I need to go, but I don't think you do." I didn't quite get what she meant by that, but it seemed to be an inside joke to her. I allowed her to help me up into the passenger side and into my seat and lean across my lap to strap me in. My insides squirmed nervously when she inhaled deeply then retreated around to the opposite side. Warren silently started the car and drove into the rain, reaching to turn on the radio. "Hope you don't mind if I play a CD." I shook my head. "Not at all." She smiled and pressed play before returning her gaze to the road. According to the screen the song was Nothing Else Matters by a band called Metallica. I could hear her chant softly along with the singer, each word and breath was accurately imitated perfectly. I found myself entranced with the music, like a spell was cast over me. The sounds of the guitars and soft percussion along with her enticing voice soon had me on the edge of sleep. The car window was cold from the rain outside so I rested my head in her lap, she slipped her arm around me and rubbed my side in intricate circles.

She didn't seem to mind if she drove in a torrential downpour with only one hand on the steering wheel and I didn't object, the massage she was giving me was amazing. "It's okay Bella, just close your eyes. I'll wake you when we get there." It just occurred to me she didn't know where I live, so I mumbled my address as coherently as I could manage. She nodded but didn't say anything further. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open, not that I wasn't exhausted but I didn't want to fall asleep and find out later none of this happened. I didn't want to blink and wake up in my room and still hurt over him, have the hole in my chest burn more over the love I lost and the friends I had ripped from me because of it. Warren dulled the painful throbbing in my chest enough for me to breathe more easily. I didn't fully know this women but she gave me an odd sense of comfort. But then there was also this heat in me, I wasn't quite sure what it was but it made me feel strange. Almost antsy but with a twist. "Hey Bella, there's a police cruiser parked in your driveway." Warren told me concerned, her voice sounding slightly alarmed. I sighed and readjusted myself to a more comfortable position in her lap. "No, Charlie is the Chief of Police. He drives his cruiser everywhere." For a moment I thought I heard her whisper under her breath "Of course, your father is a police officer. Why wouldn't he be? That'd just make my life fucking easy." with a huff she unbuckled us both and got out of the car, gentle not to disturb my current state and walked around to my side, and hoisted me out bridal style. This was great considering I wouldn't have made it into the house on my own anyway. Her strong arms cradled me close to her body, almost possessively like I was her most precious and most fragile cargo. "Not to sound weird or anything, but do you have a backdoor or something? I'd hate to bump into your old man and have him shoot me." I leaned my head on her shoulder, committing to memory the smell of musk and spice. "He's not up this late, he's probably passed out on the couch." I heard her sniff the air. "I hope your right." She slowly made her way to the font door and without much difficulty let herself in. "Where's your room?" She said under her breath, obviously trying not to wake Charlie. "Up the stairs…" God I was going to pass out soon, I was feeling the fear already. What if this wasn't real? What if I was dreaming right now? Faster then I anticipated we were in my room, and I was in my bed. Just as she went to put the covers over me my hand shot out to grab a part of her, any part of her, to prove to myself she was actually here with me and not just a part of my cruel imagination. My fingers tangled in some of her braided locks, I tugged gently at them. "Please, don't go yet." My eyes were slowly shutting but I saw clearly that she was shocked by my actions, but she stayed rooted next to my bed like I ordered her to do so. Her calloused hands wrapped around mine and set it back by my side. "Alright Bella, whatever you want." She knelt down and leaned her back against the chest next to my bed, her hand came up to push some hair that had fallen in front of my eyes. My heart fluttered as the simple touch. "Go to sleep, you need your rest." She must've seen uncertainty in my eyes because her fingers laced with mine and squeezed reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll watch over you. I swear." Those words were so comforting that I was out in no time flat, I had no doubt in my mind as I drifted off that Warren would be there watching over me. But there was a small voice in the back of my mind that argued that if she knew my secret, she wouldn't be. I was afraid it might be right.

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Review please!


	3. Blackout

I don't own Twilight it belongs to Stephenie Meyer i only own my OC Warren.

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Warren's P.O.V.

"Warren…" She sauntered over to me and straddled my waist, grinding our hips together causing a low growl to rumble in my throat. God she was so sexy, she knew exactly how to bring my inner panther out to play. Her lips teasingly hovered over mine as she giggled. "Damn you." I kissed her neck hungrily and ran my hands up her thighs, earning myself a delicious moan from her. "I want you so bad Warren." She pleaded, pressing her body impossibly closer to mine. Her tiny hands traveled up my arms to my neck as she nibbled lightly at my ear. "Show me what your hiding." I felt her fingers touch the silver clasp to my necklace and my eyes snapped open. "No Bella don't do it!" The dreading sound of metal hitting the floor sent a wave of doom crashing over me. The sound seemed to echo in my skull and vibrate though my body. Instantly my claws sharpened into points and my canines unsheathed to their normal size. My teeth latched to her throat as hot tears ran down my face. "What are you so afraid of Warren?" She asked, warm blood trickling from her lips. "Oh God…"

My head made contact with something extremely hard, waking me up from my beautiful nightmare. "Fuck!" I hissed under my breath, then realized I was in my living room. What the hell happened last night? Oh right, I got drunk at that lesbian Shifter's club and met the most beautiful woman in the world. Bella, I wondered if she noticed I left yet? Ignoring the painful throbbing in my head a stumbled to the kitchen to pour myself a hot cup of black coffee, that outta give me a boost. I tried to rummage though my thoughts to find out what happened after I made sure Bella fell asleep. I remembered holding her hand because she looked as if sleeping was the last thing she wanted to do and somehow me being around eased her distress. She acted as if I was gonna disappear off the face of the earth if I didn't tell her I was there. I didn't mind of course, anything to just be by her side and make sure she was the real thing too. Then after her grip on my hand slacked I got up and looked down at her, small, innocent, alone. The last one had me thinking awhile. She seemed to be going though some tough shit when I was with her, it was written all over her face, "I'm broken and need someone to understand my pain." Of course if I knew what that pain was I'd be more then happy to help. I didn't know why I felt so obligated to find out the cause for her hurt, but she found solace in my presence so I couldn't just leave her. Even if I wanted to, which I didn't and never in a million years even think about it. Besides it went against my dad's teachings. "If a soul finds you it obviously needs your comfort. People have always looked to Shifters to guide them. We do resemble thier spirit animals after all." With that in mind I grabbed a pen and paper off her desk and wrote down my phone and cell, writing underneath it just three words. _Just in case_. It was a pretty universal term, she'd get what I meant, or at least I hope she did. After that I jumped from her window and took a run though the forest. Everything became fuzzy after that.

Something warm and sticky ran down my head, my fingers flew to feel it. When I brought it to my face I saw red, my blood. This was not from hitting my head on the damn coffee table. I rushed over to the bathroom and was startled to see a long gash on my hairline and three scratch marks on my right shoulder, along with random marks here and there. "What the fuck…" Did I get into a fight last night? I tried thinking back, but it was just out of my reach. Damn booze. Lucky thing about being a Shifter though is that you heal fast. By the time I cleaned myself up of the blood my doorbell was ringing franticly. "Aight! I'm comin, I'm comin." Even though I screamed that from across the apartment the ass decided knocking would be better to irritate me with. I flung open the door and went to rip whoever the idiot was an asshole but the words never came. Why? Well the idiot happened to be a blood covered man.

"Aw shit Kyle who the fuck did you offend this time?" The man smiled and leaned against my door jam. Obviously in a lot of pain. "Hey Warren, nice to see you too." I rubbed my temples and sighed irritably. "How hard did I hit my head? Because last time I checked none of you guys knew I was back yet." The man slung his arm over my shoulders and I helped him inside and sat him on the couch. "I thought I'd at least get a few more days till the Pride bombarded me." He chuckled. "I could smell you a mile away, and Gabe told us all." Damn him, he sold me out. After taking a few minutes to hunt down the first aid kit Kyle updated me on how the Pride was doing in my absence, any problems, and other things I needed to be aware of. Hey, I might not be the Alpha anymore but I'd like to know how things are running. It was a synch to patch the poor guy up, least I could do considering I was a healer back in the day. "We all miss you Warren. I mean, don't get me wrong Gabe's a fantastic leader, but no one knew how to rule like you did." I paused raising from the couch, choosing my next words carefully. He always brought this up and somehow I never knew how to answer.

"I miss you guys too. But I'm a loner now. I'm not leader material anymore, and besides I'm lookin to settle down anyway." A smile spread across his fine chiseled face. "You found a girl already, damn your good!" I smiled and shook my head. Great thing about the Pride, they didn't mind my preferences. In fact I think it helped in the long run, since I was a woman but acted like a male I knew how both sides thought and acted. Which came in handy when sorting out issues. "Who's the lucky lady?" Kyle asked, shifting around to face me as I made him a cup of coffee. "Two sugars and creamer sweetie." He added.

I gave him a thumbs up to show I got it. My mind immediately went to Bella, she'd be the perfect mate for me. Soft hearted, kind, and curves in all the right places if my eyes didn't deceive me last night. But until I got more in depth with her I couldn't be sure, but I had a feeling. "No one at the moment, you know how it is man. A great woman is a rare catch now a days. Especially when it comes to commitment." He shrugged. "Got a point there." I gave him his cup and he guzzled it down like it was going out of style. "But seriously, you need a girl Warren. Someone better then that bitch Megan you dated. Someone to pick up the pieces she stomped on."

My body tensed at the name, that all too familiar pain spread though my chest like wild fire though a dry forest. "I'd really appreciate it if we didn't go there Kyle." I told him dryly. "It took me two years just to force myself to forget her name. I don't need a trip down memory lane anytime soon." He nodded in understanding, but anger still burned in his eyes. Kyle was a friend of my father's and went with me when I left Forks and unfortunately he was there though the entire thing. He wanted me to just drop her, forget she ever existed. Believe me if I could I would've done it a long time ago. But it was hard to erase the impacts she had on my life, more bad then good. It's not as easy to let her go as he might think, hell I've been trying for years! My claws dug into the counter and cracks started spider webbing under the pressure. That bitch. That lying, cheating, two faced bitch. If I ever get the chance to go for her throat for what she did to me- "Hey, Warren! Warren cut that shit out!" Kyle's hands grabbed my wrists and pulled me away from the counter. I looked up at him. "What?" I snapped. His eyes darted to the right then back at me, I followed his gaze and realized I almost took a chunk outta my kitchen sink, my poor sink. "Aw man, see Kyle? I can't even function because of her." Without even thinking my fingers flew to the pendent around my neck, a Celtic knot on a silver chain. "This fucking necklace doesn't do shit for me. It's supposed to suppress the rage and I'm demolishing my poor kitchen." Kyle gently massaged the tops of my hands with his thumbs. "It keeps your animalistic side under control Warren, not save you from pain." He let go and placed his cup in the sink. "I don't know how you can stand wearing that thing, it makes you practically human." I narrowed my eyes at him, lengthening my fangs ever so slightly. "Watch it Kyle, I may not be able to shift but I can still kick your ass."

After a moment we were both laughing uncontrollably. "Seriously, you should stop by and visit. The kids would love to see you again." Damn him for using children on me, he knew I'd never let the kids down. "Fine, I'll come by as soon as I settle in." A smile slowly crept on his lips. "We're having our Autumn Day Festival in a few weeks, why don't you stop by then?" He made his way towards the door and quickly flung it open. "Oh and you might want to bring somebody along, some of the girls are getting frisky now that they know your back!" Before I could yell at him he was off. "Fuck you Kyle!" I knew he heard me. I almost forgot about the Autumn Day Festival. One of the very few holidays I looked forward to each year, it also happened to be my favorite season. Of course humans didn't know about the Autumn Day Festival because as far as I'm concerned Shifters are the only ones who celebrate it. Every year all the Shifters in the area would gather to greet every season and keep the peace between the groups. I enjoyed the years when I was Pride alpha and conversing with the other leaders, I loved to see how they ran things and exchange our secrets with each other. Another thing I loved was that everyone was dressed in different shades yellows, oranges, reds, or browns. My attire for the occasion would always include a brown leather vest, pants, and bracers. Although I haven't been to the Festival for a couple of years now, I didn't know what they did anymore. After all loners weren't too warmly welcomed by some groups there. It was also another reason to keep my distance I guess, I always hated being around everyone after my breakup. I had a tendency to not tolerate bullshit and disrespect lightly at the time. I've beaten so many people down I can't even count them anymore. Great, Kyle wasn't even gone for ten minutes and I'm already traveling too far down memory lane to my liking.

I decided to take a shower and try to fix my counter, the expensive marble counter that my brother was gonna skin me over if he found out what I did to it. Eh I'll replace it, get black gradient instead. I could hear my dad groaning already. "Come on Cub, really, a gradient counter top? Do you know how expensive that is?" All I had to do was cross my arms and stare with my "I'm a big kid now I know what I'm doing" look and soon enough he'd say "Fine, but we're looking for good deals. Not bank breakers. And your paying for at least half of it." Typical behavior for my old man. I wondered if he could get to a computer right now? I was itching to tell him my move was a success and that I was getting my career on a roll. I went to my bedroom and shuffled around in a few cardboard boxes I had stashed away in the corner until I came across my laptop. Hugging it to my chest momentarily, I hurried to my bed and turned it on. As soon as it booted up a small screen popped in the left hand corner.

_FangMaster666 wishes to video chat with you, press the accept button bellow to allow webcam connection. _

I grinned and pressed the rectangular green button bellow the message. The screen became larger and a man's face started to appear, fuzzy at first then it cleared once the connection was better. Medium dark skin, green eyes, and strong facial features. His usually wavy hair was buzzed into the army certified crew cut, the cut above his left eye was clearly visible now. We both saluted to each other though our webcams. "Hey Dad, how are things at base?" He shifted in his chair then smiled. "Better if you were here with me Cub. It gets pretty lonely when you're the only Shifter for miles." The sound of his baritone voice had a wave of immense calm surrounding me like a soft blanket. I missed him so much, especially now.

"You and me both big guy." It was true, sometimes I wished I was over there with him. The Military had a thing about favoring Shifters because of our abilities to change into animals and our heightened senses. I've been told I was made for things like that, but I've denied them on countless occasions for fear of going over and killing someone because of my "episodes", as I like to call them. Yeah I trained along side my dad, but I didn't go with him when he was deported, I stayed behind to watch over the Pride. Sometimes I like to think my dad serves for the both of us, but my inability to fight alongside my father made me feel like I couldn't do anything right. Of course he'd always tell me otherwise, that I shouldn't feel like I have to be by his side in battle because of my blood and to follow my heart. soft thing for a big man to be saying. "What's going on Cub?" He had the look of a concerned father on his face. I curled myself up my bed and started spilling, after all I told him practically everything.

"The move went good, did like you said and didn't talk to mom when I was packing up and getting ready to leave. Checked my things twice to make sure she didn't give me a reason to come back. Oh, she has a new boy toy now, his name his Greg." He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Some things never change I see." He nodded. "Go on." Alright I'll skip a few things. "I got tipsy the other night at a lesbian Shifter bar and met a girl who stumbled in, her name is Bella." This seemed to catch his interest. "She seems like an fascinating girl by the tone of your voice." He inquired. "She's absolutely amazing dad, I haven't even known her for twenty four hours and I feel like I've known her my entire existence. She's sweet, funny, not to mention outrageously gorgeous, and I can't get her out of my head. No matter what I try she always manages to get into everything I do. I can't go two seconds without thinking about her." His gentle smile showed that he approved already. He's known I've been down on myself and actually seeing me like this must be a great sign in his book. "Do you know if she likes you?"

That's what I've been contemplating ever sense I got home, and I got a theory. "I have a feeling she's taken a liking to me, she watched me undress while she was here and refused to let me leave her side when I dropped her off at her house." The screen shifted as he adjusted the camera. "Well just because she watched you take your cloths off doesn't mean she's attracted to you." I shook my head. "She actually _watched, _watched. Stood there at my door and stared with her jaw on the ground. I could smell her arousal, now if that doesn't mean she isn't at least a tad bit interested in me I don't know what else to call it." He sat there and took in my words, contemplating what to say next. What he said next caught me off guard. "Have you ever given the thought that you might have chosen her as your mate Warren?" Was it even possible for a female Shifter to mate another female? I mean I've heard of males mating human women but it was rare for it to be the same sex, and that's if it can actually happen. But I guess that would explain the intense sexual attraction I have towards Bella. "…Not really." Again he nodded and laced his fingers under his chin thoughtfully. "Huh. Well I didn't mean to frighten you Cub, but it could be a possibility." Hey, I wasn't denying it. For all I knew that could very well be the case…I just wasn't too sure I could accept that just yet. But why couldn't I? Bella made me happy, was I not allowed to be happy anymore? "Your brows are pinched together, what's on your mind?" It took me awhile to realize he was speaking to me until he was practically raising his voice to grab my attention. "Hey Warren! Earth to Warren!" my eyes refocused on the screen. "Yeah?" He laughed lightly.

"This girl really has you wrapped around her finger does she?" Unfortunately yes. I'd do almost anything she asked of me, it was pretty pathetic to say the least. "Well when do you plan on seeing her again?" Good question. "I gave her my number last night when I drove her home, too pushy?" He shook his head. "Not really, but it depends." His green eyes stared into mine, he knew there was more to it. So I elaborated. "Bella wouldn't fall asleep unless I was there to tell her I'd watch over her. She seemed like she needed my companionship so I gave her my number and address just in case she needed someone to listen, you know?" In truth I wanted to just be there for her, whatever she needed me for. I saw something broken inside her and I made it my mission to see that I was the one that fixed it because I couldn't be fixed, I was practically unable to feel anything for others anymore. Except Bella's emotions attached to mine as soon as our eyes met for the first time, I felt what she felt. And at that exact moment in time I felt the fiery burn of agony and the icy chill of loneliness. Two of the emotions I thought I was numb to by now. Maybe if I got to know her-and I mean really know her as a person, inside and out-and got to the root of the suffering she's withholding maybe there was hope for me yet. We could both save each other. All I had to do was earn her trust, because trust was key when it came to bonding. "If you ask me I think you might have found the ying to your yang Warren. This could actually turn out to be a good thing in the long run." At that a smile cracked my lips. "I think you just might be right on that one dad. Just maybe."

We soon fell into the topic of our personal lives, how he was doing over there, how I was doing over here. He filled me in that he'd be there for the next six months or so, until a squad was formed for a covert operation he was working on. My heart contracted tightly as he described how he couldn't even walk into a nearby town without someone brandishing a gun in his direction. It was so dangerous were he was, and I didn't even know where he was stationed. I fear for my father's life constantly, even when I'm not consciously thinking about it at times. There was always the chance that I'd loose him, the one thing that would disrupt the delicate balance of life and death he faced more then I did on a daily basis. Of course if anything were to happen to him I would be the first to know. He made sure of that as soon as he joined the service, he couldn't trust mom enough to handle the problems that would follow because he knew I wouldn't do anything stupid. It was hard not knowing what he was doing half the time and I'm sure it was the same for him. After all, I was fighting my own battles here that were just as dangerous. I don't know how long we spent talking to each other then, but I absorbed everything I could of him in that seemingly long span of time. His voice, face, what he was wearing, all taken in and locked away safely in the back of my mind where I could easily reach them for guidance and comfort if I needed them.

"Alright Cub I don't want to keep you cooped up in your room all day, last thing you need is to talk to an old guy for twenty four hours." I could already tell he didn't want to leave, and personally neither did I. "Dad, you haven't been a year over thirty for centuries." He threw his head back and barked a laugh. "Well still we both gotta go. I got training and you got a lady friend to go see."

He winked and reached for his webcam. "I love you sweetheart, I'll be home soon." Always the same goodbye, same promise. "Love you too dad. I'll be thinking about you." I blew him a quick kiss and he caught it, putting it to his heart before the screen went dark. For a moment I sat there then shut down my computer, stifling a sob that tried to claw its way up my throat. It was always so hard to say goodbye to each other. But like every time I get this way I suck it up and toughed it out. No reason to dwell on it, it will just make my day harder to get though then it already would get. Without a thought I grabbed a jacket off the back of my door and headed outside for some fresh air. Being outside always made me feel better. I guess it had something to do with the animal genes, you can't keep a wild animal caged inside for very long or they start to get restless.

That was me, the wild animal you couldn't control, couldn't predict what my next action would be. I was a ticking time bomb with no countdown clock that could blow at any moment. That scared me more then anything, the fear of not knowing what my next move will be. Would I be okay for the next couple of hours, or would I snap and kill somebody? Can I keep myself cool or will I explode into a rage? These are the questions I asked myself every day, and I never get an answer to any of them. Always questioning, always wondering. There was never a time in my life that I didn't second guess myself or rethink what I'm doing. It's how I am, and unfortunately it's how I think I'll always be. Surviving in the wild with paranoia as my only company.

My pocket vibrated and I reached into it to see who was calling. I couldn't imagine anyone up this early in the morning, the sun was just starting to peer over the horizon. A line of unfamiliar numbers showed up on the screen. Out of curiosity and a little of some far off instinct I flipped open the phone and answered the unknown caller. "Yeah?" Breathing. That's all I heard for a second, the quiet breathing of a nervous female. "Uh, Warren? I-I…um, you didn't pick up at your house so I figured I'd try your cell. I hope you don't mind." My mood suddenly didn't feel so dark anymore. I knew that soft voice anywhere. Bella, she called me. She did need me, almost as much as I needed her right now. If only she knew that. "Nah, I was out for a quick stroll though town. What's up?"

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as usual, review review review!


	4. The Altered State of Mind

Again, I don't own Twilight or Bella Stephine Meyer does, i only own my OC Warren.

A/N: This chapter is kinda a song fic, the song in here is The Truth by Kris Allen and he and the record company owns the song not me.

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I was practically romping down the sidewalk like a young cub, eager to get to know my new surroundings. That's exactly how I felt when Bella called me. It was as if I was seeing the world momentarily though new eyes, a brighter world where anything was possible. But of course there was the side of me that was weary of everything and was constantly on the lookout for danger. I tried to ignore it. Finding the Shifter bar I was at last night I turned the corner and jogged down the street to find the truck Bella had described to me, a red Chevrolet pickup. Instantly I recognized the model as a 1953, my dad knew his classics and unwillingly seared them into my brain.

By this time I had switched to my headset and filled her in on the license plate and such to clarify it as hers. When she gave me the okay she asked me if I minded dropping it off at her house, I told her it'd be no trouble at all. After making a quick run back to my house to grab the keys she left in her jeans and load my bike in the back I was driving down the road to her place, which I memorized on my way there the first time. Down side to the otherwise delightful drive though was that there was no radio, it looked like someone clawed it out of the dash. Huh, how strange. I'll have to ask her about that when I get there. My trained eyes caught a white two story with a large oak tree on the side next to a window, I was instantly transfixed on the shapely figure behind the thin glass. I pulled into the driveway and got out to have a closer look.

It was Bella, looks like she was getting dressed. Her arms lifted above her head as she pulled on a t-shirt. My insides felt like they were on fire watching her. Damn she was definitely a sight for sore eyes, especially the ones that were still a tad hazy from a night of hard liquor. Looks like the old man was right, she did have me wrapped around her finger. Bella turned around and her face scrunched up in confusion when she noticed me. After a moment she recognized my smile and she walked over and opened her window. "Morning Warren." She called down. I tipped my hat forward in greeting, hoping inwardly she didn't notice how long I was standing outside her window. "Morning sunshine, how did you sleep last night?" A beautiful blush brightened her cheeks. "Like a rock. Thanks for keeping me company, I know you probably didn't want to spend all night watching someone sleep-" I waved her off mid sentence. "It's fine, really. No trouble at all." She leaned out the window and my muscles instantly tensed to rush to her rescue in case she fell out. "I can let you in if you want, there's a fresh pot of coffee on the counter and I was just about to make breakfast." At the mention of food my stomach roared and my hand went to silence it. "Uh, yeah. Food and caffeine sound fantastic."

I heard her rush out her room and down the stairs, stumble in the hall, and fumble with the deadbolt to lead me inside. Someone was excited to see me today, but hey I wasn't complaining. If anything I was as happy as she was. I looked around, slowing my pace to better take in my surroundings. "Don't worry Charlie went to the station early today." A small smile cracked her lips as she turned to see what was taking me so long. "Am I that obvious?" Slinking over to the table, I sat in a chair and adjusted my hat to better shadow my face. "And here I thought I was hiding it so well." Her shoulders shook with a silent chuckle as she reached up to grab two cups from a nearby cabinet. Damn she looked good from this angle, her body stretched so taut that the clothes she was wearing tightened in all the right places. Traveling down enticing hips swayed as she stood on her tiptoes to reach for two cups and shapely legs any man would die to get their hands on flexed to stabilize her, which in my case any man would die if they ever laid a finger on my girl.

A sudden powerful pulse of possession pumped though my veins and it took every fiber of my being to stay put in this chair and not pounce her right then and there. The smell of hot coffee filled my senses and momentarily dazed me, even though I just had a cup a few hours ago. Damn caffeine addiction. By the time Bella set a cup of steaming Joe in my font of me and settled herself in I was finished and licking the remaining drink from my lips. I noticed she watched this action rather closely. Just out of curiosity I did it again, slowly trailing my tongue along my bottom lip, then I let it slowly run over my fangs. She squirmed in her seat ever so slightly, trying very hard not to show she reacted. The smell of hot arousal tantalized my senses, my inner panther growled with the need to take her. "So Bella…" I let the words sink in and noticed faintly my tone of voice had changed; it was more seductive and had a slight purr to it.

She quickly glanced at me then down into her untouched cup. "Y-yes?" I couldn't help but grin inwardly at her. "Do you have any plans today?" Bella looked back up, looking as if to see if my question was serious. "No really, I planned on just hanging around the house and do some cleaning." That wouldn't do at all. I hated being stuck inside with beautiful weather taunting me outside, I could only imagine why she'd want to stay in her house for a whole day and not do anything. "Nah ah, not happening sweetie. I'm not letting you rot in your own house all day, your coming with me. We're gonna do fun things." I jumped from the table and reached for her hand, dragging her to the stairs and ordered her to change into something nice but comfy. "Why? What are we doing?" All I did was smile and shove her up the first few steps. I had just the thing. "You'll see. Now go and get that pretty little ass up those stairs and get ready for the best day of your life." Another cute flush and she was up to her room. Did I go too far with the pretty little ass thing? I'm sure I didn't, lots of people say that now a days, right? I had to guess she was excited because she was stumbling down the stairs in dark jeans and a pink lace trimmed camisole. Her long light brown hair was fashioned in a messy bun, I pushed a few loose strands from her face but pulled my hand back as quickly as my inhuman Shifter abilities would allow and started for the door while she trailed behind. Automatically I smelled rejection faintly roll off her. Oh shit, I didn't mean to make her feel down! Alrighty Warren, think comfort, comfort…damn I haven't done that in awhile. Deciding to go mellow I playfully bumped into her and I got that small smile back. It hasn't even been twenty four hours since we first met and I was already feeling a connection building between us.

"What's your take on sushi?" I asked casually, opening the bed of her truck to lift my bike out of the back. It was always hilarious to see the look on human's faces when I lifted impossibly heavy objects, but on Bella it was adorable. "Um, I had it once when my mom was on her Asian food kick. We went to a sushi bar and she had one and got sick of it but I was fine after trying it a couple of times." I smiled and mounted my bike. "That's great, because I know this great authentic sushi bar near my apartment complex that I'd love to take you to." Oh shit, I haven't even asked if she even wanted to go anywhere. Damn that's rude, what's up with me today? "That is, of course, if you want to go ma'am. I wouldn't pressure you into anything that you didn't want to do. If your uncomfortable we can do something else." Oh great I just lapsed in my military training, proper manners was an important part of being a soldier. Obviously she didn't mind because her cheeks flared up yet again. Damn that never got old with me. "No, no, sushi's fine." Bella came up to me and looked at the bike with uncertainty, but at the same time a lot of interest. "Don't be intimidated, she won't bite. All you gotta do is strap on your helmet and hang on tight. I'll take care of the rest." I passed her my spare helmet and helped her climb into the back. Her arms linked around my waist and her front pressed rather tightly into my back. With a grunt I started up the monster and she came to life with a roar. "Hang on!" I called back to her, as soon as I felt that reassuring grip I started off down the road. It was exhilarating as I shot across the pavement, and the thrill only intensified with Bella sitting behind me. It was completely different being around Bella then Megan, I didn't have to hide with her, we could be out in public and she wasn't ashamed, or at least that's the vibe I'm getting off of her. Megan would always makes us walk in the shadows, she'd wear sunglasses or hats, anything to hide the fact she hung out with the likes of me. Megan Richards, the perfect golden lioness, the apple of her parents eye, the smartest and most popular girl in her school, the girl every Shifter wanted to be, was secretly dating the most vicious and ruthless rogue shifter ever known to walk the streets of New York City. If anyone ever found out about her affair she'd surely loose her title in the world, or so to speak. But the only reason Bella wasn't ashamed of being around me was because she didn't know what I was, and for some reason that was kind of a comfort.

Until I got the guts to tell her the truth about me she'd have time warm up to my sweet and sour personality, and maybe get to know me well enough to understand me when the cat came out of the bag. That was the easy part though, the harder and more gruesome part would be confessing my attraction towards her. That part would be a bitch. With her soft breasts pressed tightly to my back I could feel her heart racing, if I concentrated hard enough I could feel her blood pulsing though her veins, for a awhile I was worried I scared the piss out of her making her ride the bike.

Turns out I was wrong though, as soon as I found a good spot to park and I hopped off she was all grins and slightly out of breath. "That," She huffed, securing the helmet to the bike. "Was absolutely amazing! Can we go again?" I threw my head back and laughed. A thrill seeker huh? Well then I guess I won't have to hold back as much as I thought I would. "When I take you home Evel Knievel, I brought you out to eat." At the disappointment clearly shown on her face I had no choice but to cave in a little, I was a sucker for those gorgeous brown orbs of hers. "But if your good while we're out I'll take you for a wicked ride, but _only _if your good." I warned her. "One screw up and you'll have to earn it all back from scratch." There seemed to be a new bounce in her step as we walked side by side down the street. Occasionally her hand would brush mine and each time it sent a current coursing through my body, pure primal energy sparking between us just from our skin barely making contact. If she noticed this as well I wasn't sure, I was too busy trying to tamp down my inner feline. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and took a few steps to put some distance between us, this seemed to upset her a little. Well unless she wanted me to do some very naughty things to her I think some space wouldn't hurt her. We walked by guitarist and I gestured over to him.

"Let me show you something." I gently reached for her hand and led her over. "Back home if you wanted a great beat you'd go to one of these guys. Their extremely talented at their trade. Modern artisans like myself." I reached into my pocket, pulled out a fifty, and tossed it into his case. "Can you give me a Latin beat dude?" The guy's eyes widened like dinner plates but complied with my request. I winked and pulled Bella closer she looked extremely nervous. "All in the hips Bell's, all in the hips." I reassured her, rolling mine to prove my point. "Anyone can do it." She shook her head. "I can't dance." I placed my hands on her hips and slowly swayed her back and forth with me, guiding her hips to the rhythm of the guitar. "Nice and easy. Don't think about it, let your body do what comes naturally." Soon she picked it up and we were dancing side by side, me encouraging her every time she stumbled a little. Our bodies drew closer and then she was almost touching me, and she didn't mind. Her hips grinded against mine, her eyes sparkling in a way that showed she was truly having a great time. I prayed inwardly she didn't notice the primal desire burning in my eyes from her actions. After a few minutes though she grew tired and we thanked the man for his time. "No trouble at all." He insisted. As soon as Bella walked out of hearing range I tipped him another fifty and sincerely thanked him personally.

Once we walked into the sushi bar I talked about I was bombarded by the staff. The Chef behind the counter even came out to bow in my presence. "Ah! Warren Chan how nice to see you again." he told me, his voice laced heavily with a Asian accent. I bowed as well. "And it is great to be back Horimoto San." He smiled, looking at Bella and then back at me. "Why don't you and your friend come and sit at the bar? No pay, all free." His sentence trailed off, signaling a catch. "What do I need to do?" I sighed. "Sing. You must play a song, that is your payment." Of course. "Sure, but you have to teach my friend Bella proper Sushi etiquette." We shook hands, well he took my hand and shook it vigorously in both of his. "Yes! Yes! Of course I will. Your equipment is right were is always is." Seems they expected my return, because a small stage was set next to the large glass window and a mic and guitar was waiting for me. I hopped up on the stage and grabbed the guitar, checked to see it was tuned correctly, then tested a few cords. A few of the staff came up and got their own instruments. I glanced over at Bella, her eyes glimmered in excitement as they looked into mine. Then suddenly I found the perfect song. Still looking into her eyes I told the guys the name of the song, thank God they heard of it, and I played my guitar, strumming softly.

_Lying next to you_

_Wishing I could disappear, hey_

_Let you fall asleep_

_And vanish out into thin air, hey, hey, hey…_

Her face turned into shock, but it was a happy sort of shock. Like she didn't expect me to sing or something. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Horimoto open up the front door and little by little passerby's started filtering in to see where the music was coming from. But my eyes stayed on Bella because this song wasn't for anyone but her. _It's the elephant in the roomAnd we pretend that we don't see itIt's the avalanche that looms above our headsAnd we don't believe it_

_Trying to be perfect_

_Trying not to let you down, hey_

_Honesty is honestly_

_The hardest thing for me right now, yeah_

_While the floors underneath our feet_

_Are crumbling, the walls we built together tumbling_

_I still stand here holding up the roof_

_Cause it's easier than telling the truth_

I hope she got the meaning I was trying to portray, I don't mean to be open one minute then the next slam the door in her face. I want nothing more then to open myself up to her, let her see everything there was to see in me and hope she'd accept the way I am. But the fear that she wouldn't made it very hard to be honest with her. Not knowing that if she knew who I really was, what I let myself become, she wouldn't want anything to do with me. Bella was sweet and innocent, I didn't want to damage her anymore then she already was. Then again she could be the same way with me and I just don't see it.

_I still keep your photographs_

_I remember how we used to laugh_

_I can keep on losing sleep_

_If you're okay with being torn in half_

_It's the elephant in the room_

_And we pretend that we don't see it_

_I__t's an avalanche that looms above our heads_

_And we don't believe it_

_Trying to be perfect_

_Trying not to let you down, yeah_

_Honesty is honestly_

_The hardest thing for me right now, yeah_

_While the floors underneath our feet_

_Are crumbling, the walls we built together tumbling_

_I still stand here holding up the roof_

_Cause it's easier than telling the truth_

The crowd that gathered suddenly turned the restaurant into a concert, but Horimoto didn't seem to mind at all. After I was done playing I'm sure all these people would need to eat. Hey, I didn't mind helping the old guy out, but he better not get used to me doing this regularly. Bella seemed mesmerized at me, even over the cheering of the people I heard her heartbeat quicken. She must have just realized I was singing directly at her. _Stop ignoring that our hearts are mourning_

_And let the rain come in_

_Stop pretending that it's not ending_

_And let the end begin _

_oh yeah..._

_Trying to be perfect_

_Trying not to let you down, yeah_

_Honesty is honestly_

_The hardest thing for me right now, yeah_

_While the floors underneath our feet_

_Are crumbling, the walls we built together tumbling_

_I still stand here holding up the roof_

_Cause it's easier than telling the truth_

_It's easier than telling the truth…_

As the last of the music died down the room burst into applause and cheers, but what caught my ears was Bella's hands clapping together for me. I placed the guitar back on its stand and jumped off the stage, only to have a small body latch onto me and hug me tightly. I was surprised to see Bella embracing me, but I hugged her back with just as much enthusiasm. "Your amazing!" She told me, looking up and flashing the brightest smile I've ever seen. "I didn't know you could sing like that." Our faces were so close, I bet she didn't even realize her arms were around my neck. "You wanna know a secret Bella?" I lowered my voice so only she could hear me, leaning in just a little bit closer. "Neither did I." I finally managed to break away from her, fearing if I let the moment linger she would see the intimate moment she created between us.

Although I held her close beside me as people started coming up to me, asking who I was and to tell me how great I played. I was tempted to say Bella was the reason why I was good, but I found it a little corny. We finally managed to get away from everyone and back to the counter to eat. There was already a plate of sushi waiting for us when we got there. It was a blast being with Bella, watching how cute she was acting trying to eat like I was. "Try dipping it into the soy sauce now, it tastes great. Not that way Bella turn it around its disrespectful to dip the rice part first, it ruins the flavor of it." Her eyebrows pinched in frustration as she tried to do everything perfectly, giving me the stink eye when I snickered. "Who died and made you master chef?" She was so mad at me it was practically adorable. I could tell though as she looked at me the irritation melted away, but she was still struggling. "Okay Bells, watch." I took a Hamachi sushi and flipped it so the fish was on the bottom and dipped it in the saucer. "Now the trick is to eat the whole thing in one go." I cupped my hand under it as I leaned over to feed it to her. As the food came to her lips she opened her mouth and surprisingly managed to fit the whole sushi in. "Good! And I thought you didn't know how to eat sushi." She chewed for a moment then nodded. "Well I learned from the best." That simple statement boosted my confidence ten fold. It was still amazing how any little thing she did effected me so drastically. Sadly though, my happy mood soon dwindled. My ears perked at the sound of male laughter outside. "Dude you should so steal her! She's a fucking beauty!" More laughing. I could distinctly smell the nauseating sent of cigarettes wafting in from the same directions of the voices. "Well we might want to make it quick then, who knows when the guy will be back." Wait until I get my hands on the one who just said that.

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Does this story appeal to anyone so far? if so i'd like to know so i can continue writing


	5. Scars and Revelations

I do not own Twilight it belongs to Stephine Meyer. I only own my OC Warren

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My bike, a group of men were going to steal my bike! Why would you steal something that you knew wasn't yours and know it was dangerous to do it? I'll never get why humans did shit like this. Once I confirmed that these idiots were definitely going though with their plan I told Bella to stay put, when she questioned me I didn't answer her, just got up and walked out. I was fuming, the silver pendent around my neck heating up with the animalistic rage it was supposed to contain. My muscles burned with the need to shift over, my bones aching slightly but shuddered when I refused to let my inner beast out. I'd take care of this my own way, not by instinct. How I was going to manage that was beyond me, but all I knew was that someone was going to get hurt…but it sure as hell wasn't going to be me.

Bella's P.O.V. 

I saw the smile Warren was wearing currently slowly fade away, her eyes becoming darker, more volatile. Her face turned into an icy mask and showed nothing to signal what she was feeling. It was strange, just a few moments ago she was laughing as I was struggling to eat the piece of sushi she fed me, now she was shifting into this darker state. Like she was just withdrawing into herself and becoming someone else. Someone I didn't recognize. "Warren?" I reached to touch her hand, she didn't move or seem to notice. Her eyes were glued to the entrance, but I knew she recognized my touch. It flickered momentarily across her stone cold features. I tried wrapping my fingers around hers and squeezing them, nothing happened. Her breathing turned shallow. Something was definitely bothering her, I didn't know what though. "Stay here." Warren finally said. I thought I heard a trace of a growl in her voice.

She slipped out of her seat and started towards the door. "Wait Warren were are you going?" She stopped, clenched and unclenched her hands, then continued walking till she was out of sight. A waiter followed her out as well. "Your wondering why Warren San left yes?" The sushi Chef asked me. I tore my eyes away from the front door to look at him. "Yeah, but…"

The old man must have seen the confusion on me because he smiled. "You looked hurt by her leave. I on the other hand am used to this behavior." I leaned across the counter, more interested now more then ever. Maybe he could tell me more about her, they seemed to know each other very well. "Have you known Warren long?" He nodded and started preparing more sushi. "Yes, very long time. Her father would come here four, five times a week and each time he brought Warren with him. My best costumers. Hunter is very close to Warren, best father I've ever seen, and trust me I've seen a lot." He waved his knife as he said this. Hunter must have been Warren's father.

"When Warren was old enough she started coming in every day. Then one day she came in with Hunter. They were both sad, very sad. Hunter was going away to fight the war. I remember severing them both warm sake because it was snowing. Warren had just entered her teenage years, but she looked much, much older that day. Her eyes." He told me, pointing to his own. "Showed much pain and sorrow. Too much for a child to bare. But Warren did, she has the strength of a true warrior. Can cover up and mask her true emotions. But can't hide it from her eyes, that's why she wears that hat. To make herself appear as if she feels nothing."

He was right, her face was blank of any emotion, but her eyes showed everything. Like windows into her soul, showing exactly what she was feeling at every moment when her face didn't show anything. What made her like that? How long was she like this, what caused it? This was worse then what I was going through, much worse. I'm in a depression which has been going on for months, she was in complete and total agony and who knows how long she's suffered like that. "Why are you telling me this?" He paused mid chop and looked straight at me, his eyes softening. "Simple. You make Warren very happy. More happy then you know." He said softly. "And believe me, I may not have seen her in six years but I have never seen her smile the way she did today since she was very little. " I looked back towards the door where Warren left, suddenly feeling like I needed to be with her. "Go, go now. I can see you want to follow her. Go." He shooed me away and I hopped off the stool. I reached to pay him but he waved his arms. "No! No! All free remember? Go after her, go! Before she hurts herself." I thanked him and ran out, trying to figure out were on earth Warren went. She couldn't have gone very far, but then again Warren was a very unpredictable person.

After jogging up the block for a few minutes I saw her by her bike, a group of four men were standing around her. One was off to the side near her bike. "Who the hell do you think your dealing with bitch? That's Mitch your talking to!" one of the men said, I couldn't tell which one though. Warren stood unfazed in the middle of them all. She seemed calm, cool, and collected even though she was out numbered four to one. "I don't give a flying fuck who the asshole is but your not taking my bike." She snapped her head over to the man near her bike, who I took was Mitch. "Which means get your punk ass off of her." So far each word she said dripped with venom, she was absolutely livid because of these men. Mitch trailed his hand across the seat, looking unfazed as well at Warren's threat towards him. "I don't think I want to. This is a nice bike you got here and I think I want it." He said. "Yeah, whatever Mitch wants Mitch gets." One of the four piped up, sounding quite nervous and idiotic. Warren glared over at him, then faked she was going to jump him. The poor guy flinched. "A piece of advice for you kid, keep your mouth shut unless you can handle what your opponent can throw at you." Mitch scoffed. "Oh really? And what are you gonna do? Hit one of us, you'd break a nail." They all laughed and surprisingly Warren did too, but then her face went blank and she had Mitch against the wall, her hands around his throat.

"My nails don't break ." She got real close to his face and, it must have been a trick of the light, but her teeth looked really sharp. "The only think that I will break though is your neck if you and your crew don't leave my sight in the next ten seconds." She tightened her grip on his throat, causing him to gasp and flail uselessly. The others pointed hidden guns at her cocked them. I wanted to scream at Warren, warn her about the guns, to tell her to run, but nothing came out. There was something about the way Warren was acting, I didn't know what it was but I knew she could handle herself. But I still feared for her life nonetheless. Wasn't there someone else with her though? I was sure someone followed her out when she left the bar. "You better put me down before one of my boys pop a cap in ya." Mitch choked out. Warren only smirked. "Oh I'll put you down. In fact, I think I'll put you all down." She threw him to the ground and in a swift, almost graceful motion, she disarmed every assailant and had them on the ground. Where did she learn to do that, was that even possible? She went around and collected the guns, unloaded each one, and put them in a pile. Then went over to her bike and grabbed two pairs of handcuffs from the saddle bag.

"Now I'm sure each of your parents' told you that you shouldn't be playing with guns and not to hang around the wrong crowd." She tore off her sleeves and handcuffed each of the men to a street light, two to each pole and used her sleeves to gag them. "You should've listened to them. Hopefully now you will." Pity shown in her eyes as she looked at them. Now that I took the time to examine them they were just kids, high schoolers probably. I bet Warren saw this, that's why she restrained them. She strolled over to Mitch, who was groaning and starting to get up. She kicked him back down and stomped on his stomach. "You fucker! They're kids, your showing these kids how to be the scum of society!" He grinned, almost mocking her. "I'm teaching them how to be men bitch. They chose to follow me and I'm looking after them because no one else cares about if they live or die. I'm the brother they always wanted." Her hand shot down and yanked him up to his feet, where she sent him flying into the nearest wall. "There are people that care! Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers! Friends and everyone else they know are probably worried sick about them, wondering where they are and what happened to them, and where are they? With bastards like you. Your using them for your own selfish fucking needs, you don't care about them. You don't give a flying fuck whether they go down or not, all you care about is that you got lackeys to do whatever you say whenever you say." She punched him in the stomach and shoved her forearm in his throat.

"It's scum like you that make me sick. You should be the one going down not them. I'm going to make sure that happens." Then suddenly she jumped back like he shocked her, holding her hand over neck. Blood was leaking though her fingers. She dropped down to her knees and coughed up blood. Mitch was holding a blade in his hand, dark crimson liquid dripping off the tip, Warren's blood. "How do you like that, ain't so tough now are ya you freak? You ain't gonna tell anyone anything." He said smiling, looming over her. For a moment I thought she was done, that he was going to finish her right then and there.

I was wrong. I was really, really wrong.

Her eyes looked into his with a fiery fury that I've never seen in anyone, it actually stunned me the murderous gaze she was giving him. "No, I don't like that. But do you like this?" Warren shot her leg up and got him right in the crotch, causing him to go down and giving Warren enough time to stand up and get the knife from him. She looked at it with interest, then did a really cool trick with it and clocked Mitch in the nose. "I lived in Manhattan punk, I think I know how to handle an asshole with a knife." She took off his belt and tied him to a pipe attached to a building and started walking off. But she stopped and walked back, yanked down his pants and stormed down the street. "Hey! You fucking bitch get back here! Get back here and untie me!" She flipped him the bird and continued walking.

The man I saw follow her out of the sushi bar met her a few yards ahead and pulled her over. "Hey Warren, you alright? I lost you a few streets over and I was starting to worry." She shook her head, her hands shaking furiously at her sides. "No, No I'm not Tim. Can you take my bike back to the garage? I'm gonna go blow off some steam." Her voice sounded short of breath and a tad gravely. Tim nodded and started over towards me. I hid in an alleyway until the man passed. When I was sure he was gone I walked back out and looked in the direction Warren went. Without even thinking about it I ran after her, making sure to keep my distance so she wouldn't notice me following her.

She was so angry, I could practically feel waves of outrage rolling off of her. Was this what Horimoto was talking about? I continued following her until we reached an abandoned building. It was tall, probably a warehouse of some sort. Broken glass and rusted chunks of metal littered the outside of the building, looking up the building itself was just as broken. Windows were smashed in and a black substance stained under some of them. Fire damage. Warren smashed in the front door and I waited a few minutes before going in after her. The building looked as if it were gutted out years ago, a skeleton of the factory or shop it once was. The air here smelt stale and slightly smoky, the floor littered here and there with garbage and old beer cans.

Echoing footfalls above me told me Warren was going to one of the higher levels. I found a set of spiraling stairs and started climbing my way up. At each level I stopped and looked for any sign of Warren, but came up empty at each level I stopped at. After awhile I was becoming tired and was contemplating on giving up, until I heard a crash above me. Sucking in a deep breath I trudged another flight of stairs and saw Warren, the crash I heard was caused by a now demolished shelving unit across the room. Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that was going to be broken.

It was as if I really was seeing someone else. She was destroying everything she came in contact with, and when it seemed like she was done she found something else to break. The weird part though was that I wasn't shaking in fear at seeing this. I should be in shock and run from her and never turn back. But I wasn't. I wanted to be here, no scratch that, needed to be here. This wasn't just a rage, this was a person in pain. It was all in her actions, her strangled yells as she took her hurt out on anything that wasn't breathing. Stumbling and holding her head, it made me cringe away. When there was nothing left to destroy she started hitting the walls. Warren was hitting them so hard her blood was staining the old cracked cement, and she didn't seem to care about how her bones cracked or how much it seemed to hurt her. It was heartbreaking, seeing how this strong, independent women being controlled by her emotions. I actually felt my eyes water up watching her beat herself up, if anyone knew what I was going threw, could imagine the pain I felt, it was Warren. Though she dealt with her hurt more physically while I just withdrew from everyone around me. I

thought I had it bad, she had it ten times as worse. Warren leaned against the wall, gasping and struggling to stand. The sunlight shining though the smashed windows cast over her, causing parts of her into be hidden in shadow, making her look opaque and dangerous. I climbed the rest of the stairs and felt my foot hit something, I looked down to see her hat. It must have flown off during her rage. "Warren?" I called to her softly, bending down to pick up her hat. She picked her head up to find the source of the sound. When her clouded eyes met mine they widened. "Bella…" Her voice was hoarse from yelling so much, exhausted from over exertion. She didn't ask why I was here. She didn't tell me to leave. Her silence told me everything I needed to know, her face said what she couldn't say. "Pease don't leave me, I need you here. I'm hurt and I need your support." I blinked back the tears and took the steps that separated us. She pushed herself off the wall to meet me somewhere in the middle, her hand staying on the wall for support. Once she reached me she had my back pressed against the cold cement, her hands around my upper arms and tightening slightly. Her head rested on the wall above me and her body shuddered with a sigh.

"I know you saw what I did back there Bella, you saw me beat the shit out of five men and followed me here and witnessed me destroy everything in this room…" She swallowed and tried to suppress a sob. "I'm a very dangerous person and I should've never…I wish you didn't see me like that. You deserve better then to be around the likes of me. I could've hurt you." She looked at me, her emerald eyes glassy with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry Bella please don't hate me. Please." A few of her ruby locks fell in front of her face and I gently brushed them aside. As my fingers trailed over her skin they ran over something rough, I noticed that they were scars.

Three long scars running diagonally over her right eye from her elegantly arched eyebrow all the way down to her chin. I never noticed that before, then again she always wore a baseball cap every time I saw her. I dropped that hat and touched her face lightly and locked our eyes together. "I don't hate you Warren. I'll never hate you and I'm not scared of what you did. I understand why you did it." I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. "And I'm not going anywhere. I want to be here. Besides…" I felt my face flair up as I pressed my face into her chest. "Ny meed oo." She chuckled. "What? I didn't quite catch that Bells." I sighed and unwillingly looked up at her. "I said…I need you." There. I said it, and I'm glad I did. It was true and by the looks of things she needed me too. She smiled warmly. "Glad we're on the same page." Her hands slipped off my arms and she winched. "Shit!" She held up her shredded knuckles. "Hands. They hurt like a bitch." She added at the confusion I felt form on my face.

"Cut that out your gonna get wrinkles." She chided, smoothing out my brow line with her thumbs. Her fingers was tender, soft and sent chills up my spine. All it took was a simple touch from her to send my heart racing and my skin tingling, it was just one of her many effects on me. Her hands stayed on my face longer then was necessary but I didn't mind, but once she realized this she recoiled. It didn't hurt as much now when she did this because now I saw that she had underlying issues to solve. Though it still felt like she was rejecting me in a way. I'm sure she didn't mean for it to seem that way, after all she always looked guilty afterwards.

The smell of blood hit my senses and made me feel slightly nauseous, causing me to remember Warren was injured. I reached down to get my cloth belt and undo it. She watched perplexed as I tried to rip it in half. "Need help?" I huffed and handed it over to her, feeling s jolt of irritation when she cleanly ripped it in half by the seams. I took them back and made quick work on wrapping her knuckles with the cloth. "This should do for now, but I'd really like to clean that up and dress it more properly though." She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Your acting like your going to wash and dress me here Bella. It's just a few scrapes I'll be fine." I blushed furiously when she said this, I don't know why it wasn't like I was thinking it or anything…

Okay maybe when she said that but I wasn't going to go though with it. The smell of blood was still lingering and my shirt felt a little damp, looking down I saw my shirt was stained with blood. Alarm rose in me and I looked franticly to Warren, her neck and shirt were covered in it. "Oh my God! Your neck!" Her eyebrows furrowed as she touched her neck. "Oh yeah, I forgot all about that." I felt my mouth drop slightly, my eyes widening at her. "How can you forget that someone cut your throat?" She chuckled and put her hands on my shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "Chill Bella it's okay. It's easy to forget about simple injuries when your pissed." My fingers flew to see how bad the damage was, which was weird since I didn't take the sight of blood too well. "It looks so deep though, and it's still bleeding a little."

The muscles in her neck tightened as I examined the cut, her breathing turning shallow. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "Yeah, just quit touching me." She chuckled and grabbed my hands. "Not good to be touching other people's blood, very hazardous to your heath." I crossed my arms and looked up at her. Funny, I never noticed how tall she was. Then again I didn't notice a lot of things about Warren until now. "Well then at least come back to my house so I can bandage everything more properly." Instead of arguing she held up her hands, not at all what I expected her to do. "Okay, whatever floats your boat Bella. But I still say I'm fine." I grabbed her hand and dragged her down the stairs. "Your bleeding Warren, your not fine."

I could feel her smiling as we made our way back outside. That's when I realized we didn't have a ride home, Tim took Warren's bike back to her place. "We don't have a ride." I said exasperated. Warren poked me and pointed down the road. "Look again." And there stood Warren's sports bike, rumbling and ready to go. "You still up for that crazy ride you begged for?" I knew I shouldn't say yes, she was hurt and needed her wounds treated as soon as possible, but I couldn't resist the temptation. I put on my helmet and jumped on behind her, my arms linked around her waist, and we sped off down the road. The bike sped on faster and faster, everything streaking by so fast I had to press my face into Warren's back to keep from getting nauseous. Then she did something completely unexpected, she throttled the bike and leaned back, the front wheel lifting up so we were only going down the road on the back wheel.

A shot of adrenaline pumped though my system, causing my heart to race and my palms to sweat. It was amazing! The thrill, the danger, absolutely invigorating. My house came up in the distance and she hit the brakes, the tires squealed as she turned the bike hard, the back end kicking up so we balanced on the front wheel and swung over to stop beside my driveway.

Warren cut the engine and uncounted herself, looking back to check on me. "You alright back there?" My hands were shaking as I pulled off my helmet, my breathing was ragged and I was smiling like a crazy person. "That was amazing!" She looked down at me and gave me her lopsided grin. "That's the third time you've said that today." I got off the bike and walked with her to the house, unlocking the deadbolt and letting us in. "Guess that means I had an amazing day." She took off her boots at the door and held the door open for me. "Then my mission is accomplished." As usual Warren was cautious as she stepped in behind me. The house was quiet except for the sounds of our footsteps. Charlie wasn't home yet and inwardly I was thankful. I wasn't quite sure what I'd do if he saw Warren, I haven't told him anything yet.

I led her over to the bathroom where I grabbed the first aid kit then brought her over to my room. Instantly she shed off her shirt. For a moment I stood there in complete awe at the sight, it was just like when I saw her undress in her loft but the effects now were ten times as intoxicating and the heat in my core was hotter then ever. What made this moment really different though was that this time I was closer, I could clearly see every definition of her body as if they were popping out at me. From her head to her feet she was smooth and lean, powerful and majestic. A dangerous exotic beauty that could lure you in and take you out all at once if she chose to. Her skin was lightly bronzed, though soft in appearance it was covered in scars of all shapes and sizes.

My first thought was she was a fighter, that was definitely plausible after what I saw her do today. Then deeper meanings started buzzing around in my head, darker and more leery. Could she have been tortured, abused possibly? If she was it didn't show in her personality. She was more likely to take a person head on then cringe and hide. These weren't just regular scars either, a large majority of them looked like they were inflicted by animals. She did say she was from New York, so maybe she's been attacked by a few stray dogs over the years. The sudden thought of Warren being attacked by rabid animals made me flinch, causing Warren raise an eyebrow at me. "You look like it's your first day in the girl's locker room. Do I need to put my shirt back on? I thought you could see the damage better without it."

Did she just flirt? It sounded like she did, but the smile she had on made me think she was poking fun. "No, no, it's fine." She joined me on my bed and sat still as I cleaned her up and covered her cuts, hissing and holding my waist occasionally as I disinfected them. I didn't know if it was having her this close to me practically half naked or that she was touching me but I was feeling as if a bond was forming between us, and for some reason I didn't mind it at all.

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	6. Story of a Lifetime

I am just going to keep saying this so get used to it, Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I only own my OC Warren.

You guys finally get to find out Warrens side of the story! everything that made Warren who she is is finally revealed in one chapter! (well kinda i'll go more in depth as the story goes on) Probably not the way you thought i'd come out but it ties in later on i swear

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Warren's P.O.V.

I had to admit to myself things were rolling faster then I thought they would. I mean, Bella and I only knew each other for two days and I practically broke down in front of her. She saw now that there was more to me then meets the eye, now she knew I couldn't be without her in my life. It was beginning to get harder to suppress my feelings towards her too. Every time I found us alone in a room together, take for example when she was patching me up in her bedroom, I was already thinking of the many possible things I could be doing to her. Each touch of her velvety soft fingers sent onslaughts of images running though my brain. Some more graphic then others, which I'll keep the details of to myself for the time being.

After she was done playing doctor she gave me a tank top to borrow and we settled down together in her living room and channel surfed. There wasn't anything in particular I was searching for really. I was just trying to give myself an excuse to think.

It felt like hours went by before I finally got the nerve to shut the damn television off, working up some courage to say the main thing that's been rampaging in my head since she found me at the warehouse. "Bella." She looked over at me, a quizzical expression on her face. "What happened back in town, I'm just not getting it. Usually when people see me like that they end up thinking I'm crazy and run off…but you stayed. Why didn't you run? It just doesn't add up to me." She wringed her small hands in her lap, her eyes looking at anywhere but at me. "To tell you the truth I really don't know." She admitted. "I guess you looked so hurt, I just couldn't leave you there. I had to do something to help because I knew if I didn't…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence for me to get it, I already knew. If I had stayed in that warehouse just a few minutes longer I could've done a hell of a lot more then bust up my hands. I was grateful to her for being there when I needed her to be. But at the same time I wish she ran away like everyone else, I was afraid she didn't see how hazardous I was. I could easily hurt her if she wasn't careful. I was so close to shifting today it wasn't even funny. How long could I keep my secret from her anyway? How long before she finally realized there was something wrong with me, or before I can't control my other self any longer?

The pendent around my neck was still pulsing with the fading anger that only moments ago was threatening to burn my skin off with its intensity. I wanted to tell her so badly to tell here everything right now, while it was still possible that she'd accept it without much shock. I couldn't get the words out right though. It sounded so wrong, how could I her that I was a monster? That I wanted her so badly that it literally hurt, that I was in love the second our eyes met across the room? Bella was a human and I was a Shifter, I wasn't even sure if we could make it work. And that's if she wanted to go that far.

Her eyes looked into mine from her spot on the couch, I didn't know what to make of it. She looked like she understood, but how could I be sure? "Bella I just want you to understand, if you continue to be around me your putting yourself at risk. I'm not your average gal here I can seriously hurt you." To my surprise her chocolate orbs flared with anger, she did not like that I said that. Did not like that at all. "And I want you to understand that I don't care Warren. Everyone is always worried for my safety and I'm tired of being treated like I'm a china doll that needs to sit on a shelf and be under constant watch. I can handle it, I really can. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to-" She suddenly cut of in the middle of her rant, her cheeks flaring up. I felt a huge grin split my face.

"I never said you should stay away from me. All I did was say I come with some baggage that, if you really want to hang out, your going to have to deal with it. Believe me I don't want to stop seeing you either. That's the last thing I want to happen." I moved closer to her side and she rested comfortably against my shoulder. "Sorry, you just reminded me of someone…and I guess it just made me angry to hear you say that. You of all people you know?" I wrapped my arm around her waist, keeping her close and letting her feel some comfort. "Yeah, I'm really tempted to ask who I remind you of, but I have a feeling that story time is gonna have to wait till later huh?"

She didn't answer and pressed closer to my side. Good enough answer for me. "But anyways you should use that china doll thing to your advantage. Use it as a cover, act all vulnerable and fragile, then when they least expect it," I punched my palm, the sound of skin on skin causing her to jump slightly but she laughed. "Bam! You attack!" I settled back into the couch while Bella got over her short fit of giggles. "Isn't that what you did to that guy? When he cut you and you pretended to be seriously injured and then you kicked his ass." I couldn't help but smile at the fact she just cursed, it was cute. "Good observation." She nodded and twiddled her thumbs, she had something else on her mind. "What are you thinking there Bella? Looks like your having a migraine." She didn't look up to look at me, she kept her eyes glued to her hands. "Just that, I don't know…it's nice having you around that's all." I couldn't agree with her more. It made me so ecstatic now that we were on the same page, or at least we partially were.

She stopped talking and after awhile I found out she fell asleep in my lap. Her steady breathing and the soft noises she made while sleeping calmed me. It was nice, just to sit here and watch her resting comfortably in my arms. It reminded me of when dad would take me camping and we'd sit under a tree, me curled up in his lap while he told me stories, true or make believe, and the sound of his voice would lull me to sleep. Then we'd wake up in the morning, shift and hunt for a quick breakfast then head back home to have breakfast with mom and Gabe. But that was when things were easy. When everything was simple and I had a complete family, I guess it always felt that way when you were just a kid.

Now my father was hundreds of miles away and my mom…I don't even want to know what she's up to right now. God I wondered what he was doing right now, was he okay, was he thinking the same thing I was right now? I really wish he was here, just him being here would make my life easier. Or if I was there and away from everyone, but I could never leave Bella. Hell she's the only reason I'm staying here and not nomading allover the place. She kept me here, and if by some reason I had to leave I don't think I could. The Autumn Festival suddenly came to mind, would I take her with me? I mean she'd love it. All the colors, the different foods, all the Shifter clans; as far as I'm concerned as long as she didn't threaten to expose or harm them she was all good they wont mind her in the slightest. I mean after all who could hate a person like Bella? All I had to do was tell her…

I sighed and looked down at her sleeping form. "You know what Bella? Your not making this any easier on me. How do I tell you the truth without you walking away from me? I can't just be like 'Oh hey Bells guess what? I'm not a human with anger issues I'm a were panther with out of control instincts, I think I fell totally head over heels in love with you, and every time I see you I want to throw you up against the wall and fuck you till you scream. I meant to tell you all this before but I thought you'd run away like everyone else.' I mean that's just plain rude." She snuggled closer to me and groan softly. She was in too deep to hear me but in the back of my mind I hope she got the gist of it. "I guess I'm only telling you this because you can't hear a word I'm saying and I can't tell you this in person because I'm so afraid you'd reject me. It's not like I planned for this to happen but I can't say I regret it either. But since your listening I guess I'll tell you everything."

Damn I was pathetic, talking to a person while she was asleep. Nevertheless though I found myself telling her everything in hushed tones. It just poured out of me, like a dam was split open and all the water was rushing out. "For as long as I can remember I've had these problems with withholding my anger, it was easy to control at first, but once I got older I found it harder to contain my outbursts. I guess that's when dad realized I needed training, so he would bring me up high in the mountains and teach me all the things they did at boot camp. All the hard work and complex training he did paid off, but to an extent. Though I had better self control over my emotions I was still prone to episodes depending on the situation. It was hard growing up and knowing everyone was anxious being around someone so unpredictable as myself. And it didn't help when mom started drinking after dad left for his first draft. A whole year he was gone and everything just tipped out of proportion."

Pausing momentarily to check and see she was still sleeping I continued. "I always knew there was something off about her when it was time for him to leave, he spent his last night in my room and told me stories of when he was young, sung me different lullabies. I remembered we both cried together for awhile that night and he never left my side. Mom didn't come to the airport either we had to have Harry Clearwater drive us. We got there early so we could walk around and talk. But for some reason he avoided talking about her. I didn't know this at the time but he had a feeling she was cheating on him, he never shared this though till I confirmed it for him while he was gone. I can't tell you how pissed I was when I found out what my mom was doing behind our backs, then I started to fear that he wouldn't come back now because of what she was doing. But he kept telling me I was his only reason to come home and that was just fine with him. As long as he had me he was the happiest man in the world."

Tears started rimming my eyes. "He's always so proud of me. Sometimes I wish he wasn't, I don't deserve it. Do you remember when I told you I moved to New York because of family issues? Well that issue happened to be that my mom ordered a divorce while he was off on tour, can you fucking believe that? Imagine being a soldier fighting a war and you get papers sent to you by your wife saying she's leaving you and taking your kid across the country and away from him. He never lost faith though, I was always closer to him then mom anyway. He knew no matter what once I hit a certain age I'd be off and back to where I belong, here with people who care about me, and hopefully in time he'll be here too. You'd love him Bella he's the best person in the world. And wait until you try his cooking."

Remembering my father almost had the same effects as when I was speaking to him the other day, the same warmth and comfort surrounded me and made me feel at ease. "I bet you know how I feel, your old man's a cop after all. I bet you worry about him as much as I worry about my dad. But imagine though not being able to know where he is, what he's doing, if he's alive the very moment you think of him, most people can't. On top of all that my dad's a Shifter, so he's in twice as much danger as a human soldier."

I carefully adjusted us so I could lie down and she was pressed against my front. "Which leads me into the topic of my life as one. I'm not sure if you know this or not but all the myths and legends you've heard growing up are true, well some of them anyway. As I've said before I'm a werepanther, so obviously there are others like me around. We travel in large groups called Prides. I used to be the Alpha Female of a Pride here and in New York but I've resigned two years ago and gave the title of Alpha to my brother Gabe. I was a great leader though, the best one of my time some say. I was loyal and cared very much about everyone under my leadership. I took in those who needed my help, cared for orphaned cubs if they lost their parents, and trained fighters. I ruled the way my father did. Everyone tells me I'm just like him and that's the one thing I pride myself in is that I'm the spitting image of my father. I loved being able to keep everyone safe and happy, it was the best thing that ever happened to me when I took up the position as the Alpha of the Pride here. So why did I give it all up you might ask? Simple, I couldn't carry out my duty. And it was all because of this girl I met while I was in New York."

The same painful throbbing started in my chest and I struggled trying to breathe properly. I let my nails dig into the couch instead of Bella, who was still sleeping soundly next to me. "It all started when I was in ninth grade, I met this girl named Megan Richards. She was this pretty blond who was the top of all her classes and was the most popular person around. She was sweet and bubbly, the picture perfect model student. I was the opposite of that. I was the school's loner, the person that if you sit at the same table he or she will toss your ass out. I was always brooding and never smiled, I was angry and confused and it only intensified when mom dragged me away from Forks. But where other people would have avoided me and talked behind my back, Megan took her interest. She didn't see as much as you do but she saw enough to know I was in pain. We started meeting after school and her supposed "study dates" after school and sure enough we headed off. Quicker then most relationships I'll tell you that. Though no one knew about us she made sure of that, I just thought hey she's just finding out she's a lesbian she'll build up the courage in time. It took me no time to tell my Pride I was a lesbian and they don't mind at all. She hid our relationship well though, no one knew anything about us except us. Oh the time we spent alone together was great but it was straining to see her in the hallways and not be able to interact with her because she was with her friends. Or when we went out together but never do the things other couples do for fear of getting caught. She pleaded with me constantly not to tell anyone she was with me, I only agreed because if I did tell she'd leave me and I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't let another person walk out of my life again."

"But fuck if I knew I was going to meet you Bella I'd drop her a long time ago. Your so much better then her in every single way, compared to her you're the Goddess that everyone should worship the ground you walk on. But I thought at the time she was my only light and I couldn't loose her, because if you didn't have light you couldn't see where your going."

My hand absentmindedly played with her hair, feeling its silky texture though my fingers. "She broke up with me because she fell in love for this werelion, I forgot the asshole's name but all I knew was that he was the star athlete of our school and he was rich. Big whoop if you ask me. I remember that day as if it were yesterday, we were in the park and it was pouring, she called me saying she needed see me right now. I thought she was in trouble, but as I ran to the park I soon realized it was me who was in trouble. First words out of her mouth were 'it's over Warren'. I was flabbergasted, shocked and hurt all at the same time. I didn't understand at first, I thought she was joking, but she was serious. I didn't say anything as she explained to me how it was never going to last, we were just rebels and there was nothing special between us. She was in love with this other guy, they were going to get married next year and she had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to attend her wedding."

I laughed quietly to myself. " I told her to go to hell. She walked off, straight to his car, and he glared at me. I stared right back, who the fuck was he to think I was afraid of him? They drove off and I just snapped. I thought I was fucked up before, but man compared to what I am now I'm a psychopath."

"But now I realize how much of a fucking fool I was Bella, because all she was looking for was kicks when all I wanted was love and understanding. She used that to try and get what she wanted from the start, power, fame, it was all for her own selfish gain. And when she couldn't get it she dropped me like I was trash. The when I started giving up on myself you came into my life and I found all that I could ever possibly need and more in you and I hope to the Heavens above you'll see that really soon because I'm not sure how long I can last like this. Not having you know."

I looked at her, brushed a few strands of hair from her face and let tears roll down my face. "Bells the night you walked into that bar when we first met, I was going to go home and shoot myself. At that point I couldn't take the pain and suffering and I just wanted it all to end. I was slowly being eaten away inside and it just wasn't getting any better for me. When I went to go home to grab my gun you walked in, all alone and drenched from the rain, in all your beauty and grace you just so happened to change my mind. You're my light Bella…you'll always be my light. Deep down I know I'm yours too."

Her arms encircled me and my body went frigid, for a moment I thought I was screwed but she just sighed and nuzzled her face in my chest. "Warren…don't leave me." She was still asleep. I smiled though my tears, leaned my head down and pressed my lips to her forehead. "I'll never leave you Bella, never. I love you too much to do that." I never got a reply from her but I drifted off knowing for once in my life I felt content, happy, and for the first time in a long time, I felt whole. I was in the arms of someone who truly cared about me, someone who I knew would someday come to understand who I was.

I was finally home. And this is where I planned to stay.

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I have to admit i got a little teary eyed as i was writting this...but hey that just shows how much work i put in it to make it a great read for you guys! so if you liked it, didnt like it, or have ideas for future capters theres only one thing to do..

reveiw!


	7. The Darker Side of Me

I do not own Twilight Stephenie Meyer does, I only own my badass OC Warren.

Well in this one you get to really see the two completly diffrent sides of Warren here, the good side and the bad side. Now notice how she acts when she's around Bella in the begining and how she still lingers in Warren's mind thoughout the rest of the chapter.

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Can someone say the best sleep of my life? Because that's what I just had. Waking up seeing Bella cuddled up in my arms had to be the best sight I've ever seen. I felt great too, warm, light, and found it much easier to breathe. Even though she wasn't conscientious when I told her my story it felt like a huge load was taken off my chest. Now if only I can say all that all again when she's awake, then I'll feel completely healed.

Her body stirred in my arms and her eyes opened slightly. "What time is it?" She grumbled. I let my hands stay on her waist and smiled at her. "Don't know, but I'm gonna go make coffee. Want any while I'm up?" She nodded and closed her eyes. I carefully got up and made my way into the kitchen, getting everything I need to get my fix going. I remember clearly where she kept everything because I was just here this morning, so it was like following in her footsteps really. I had the brewer going in a few minutes, but now I was hungry. Might as well make some chow while I'm here too. I started rummaging though the fridge for something to make, I was great at making food out of whatever I found, but the sound of a gun had me turning around to meet a cop. Great, just what I needed. This must be Bella's father Charlie, I had to give hi kudos for first impressions. "Who are you and what are you doing in my kitchen?"

I held my hands up and kept my eyes glued on the gun, moving cautiously towards him. "Okay, lets just calm down here. No reason to start spraying bullets, especially if their aimed at me." He cocked his gun. "Stay where you are and put your hands behind your head and get on your knees." I stopped, rolling my eyes as I did as he asked. Seriously? I felt like I was in New York city all over again. "I'm not going to ask you again, who are you?" I looked at him and tilted my head. "Well since you asked so nicely, I'm Warren Walker. Now can you please put down the gun? Your making me really nervous here." Bella appeared in the kitchen and I glanced at her. Asking silently what the hell was going on. "Charlie! What on earth are you doing, put your gun away!" She darted towards him and shoved his hand down. "Warren get up he wont shoot you." I got back up and she walked over towards me.

Charlie looked at me as if I had a third eye or something. "Warren Walker…your Hunter's kid aren't you?" Stunned I nodded. "Yeah, how do you know him?" He put his gun back in his holster. "You don't recognize me? Charlie Swan, you used to tag along when your father and I went fishing on weekends." Oh shit! How could I forget him? My dad and him were great friends. Guess my memory of Forks wasn't as good as I thought it was. "Well now that you mention it you do look familiar." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about earlier. You changed a lot Warren." He added, eyeing me closely. "Well that's what happens when your gone six years Charlie. I'm making dinner, anything in particular your in the mood for?" The guy practically beamed when I mentioned food. "Anything you cook is fine with me." I shooed them both to the living room as I started preparing everything, I figured my dad's stew would do the trick, though instead of the usual venison meat I grew up with I substituted beef.

As the pot simmered away on the stove I started setting up the table, my ears picking up the conversation in the living room. "So how long have you two been hanging out?" Yeah, I was eavesdropping but I couldn't help myself. "A couple of days, she's been in town for a couple of weeks now." I could imagine him nodding. "Huh. So do you know where she got those…" I chuckled to myself, of course I wasn't wearing my hat right now so he obviously saw my scars. I shook my head and decided not to call them just yet. I wanted to hear what Bella's thoughts were on my marks. "I'm not really sure, she hasn't told me how she got them." Aw, I was really looking forward to her opinion too. Oh well.

"Hey you two! Dinner's served!" We all settled ourselves around the small kitchen table and ate, talking and laughing occasionally. All the while I kept tossing glances at Bella, knowing I was risking Charlie noticing something was up but I didn't care. I really couldn't help how beautiful she was. Me and Charlie fell into our own conversation about when I lived here, laughing when he told Bella of the time when my dad tried to throw me off the fishing dock at one of our fishing trips but I dragged him along with me. It was nice to see I still had Charlie here as a buddy. "So how's your old man?" He asked me, and surprisingly I didn't flinch or anything.

"Tired, dirty, and overworked but other then that he's fine." He nodded, smiling at my dark humor. "I heard your brother moved to the Reservation, you staying with him?" I got up and collected all the plates. "Nah, he gave me his apartment to stay in. He only got it in the first place because of the built in studio remember?" I placed the dishes in the sink and started washing them. "So you still on your artist kick?" Bella came around to aid me, picking up a towel and drying anything I passed her. "Yeah. I've always had a passion for the Arts Charlie, you of all people should know that. Mind giving us a hand here?" And there we were, me washing, Bella drying, and Charlie putting away. For a split moment I felt at home, like I had a family again.

Bella gave me a soft smile which only brightened my mood further. After another half an hour of catching up I realized I had to go. No reason to overstay my welcome. "Thanks for dinner Warren, you should drop by more often." I rolled my eyes as I pulled on my boots. "Oh please old man, you just want more of my cooking. But yeah, maybe I'll drop by this weekend, maybe I'll grill something. My treat." I added towards Bella, who just hinted at a cute blush. "I'll walk you out." She offered. I waved goodbye to Charlie and opened the front door so Bella could walk out first, me following close behind. The sun was just starting to go down, the sky portraying beautiful shades of orange, reds, and pinks before fading into inky blackness. The first few stars of the night winking down on the earth as if they knew something I didn't. I stopped and closed my eyes for a minute. Absorbing the dying rays of sunlight before they disappeared and breathing in the cool twilight air. "It's the simple things." I found myself murmuring. "What?" Bella asked from beside me. I opened my eyes, looking at her before smirking. "Nothing, just something my father would always say that's all." I shoved my hands in my pockets and sighed deeply. "Thank you Bella." She gave me this quirky look that showed she was a little lost. Of course I found it adorable as always. "For what?" I smirked and shook my head, walking off the front porch towards my bike. "Wait, your not going to tell me?" I paused mid step to look back at her. "Nope. Some things don't need explanations, they explain themselves in their own time." She nodded, then slowly make her way towards me. She almost looked tentative. "Well…if that's true…" Her arms wrapped around me and her head rested against my chest. I found myself being wrapped up in this moment, just me, her, and the beautiful sunset behind us. I took in as much of it as I could, tucking it away in the back of my mind for later viewing. "Then I want to thank you too." I moved so my mouth was right by her ear. "Your welcome Bella." I whispered softly to her, feeling her shiver against me. I pulled away from her and started towards my bike again. I mounted it just as she went to go back inside. "And Bella." She turned around just as she went to open the door. "Sleep well." Another small smile curved her perfect lips. "You too Warren." I watched her as she walked back inside, sitting there for a few moments. I wanted more then anything to stay, to be wrapped up in her arms again, to feel her warmth so close me. To tell her whatever she wanted to hear. But instead I stuck the key into the ignition.

"Thank you Bella…for everything." The engine roared to life and I sped off, the distance I was putting between us slowly killing me. It was easy to fall away into my thoughts and not think anything, like putting myself into autopilot. I just let my body do the work while I tried to figure everything out. Okay, she saw part of my true self today, I spilled my guts out to her while she slept, and we shared a moment together in front of her house. What did that all mean though? She was more comfortable around me, okay. She understood me a little more then before, better. Now how was I going to explain everything when she saw what I was hiding from her? Would she accept me like she did today? Part of me wanted to believe she would, but another part argued she couldn't possibly. She was just human after all, how much more suffering would this cause her? Bella was in enough pain as it was without my shit mixed in with it. My moment of peace and happiness was quickly dwindling and I wished she was here with me to banish these bad thoughts.

I found myself absentmindedly walking into my apartment when the phone rang. I reached out to answer it. "Yeah?" No answer. But the line was still open. "Hello?" Movement but still no answer, I was starting to get irritated here. "Alright fuck this." I slammed the phone back on the hook and headed over to my bedroom. I fucking hate it when random people call my house. I stripped off Bella's top, laying it out tenderly on my bed, and switched out my jeans for a pair of leggings. My ears picked up a sound coming from the main area. Kitchen window creaking open, shuffling across the floor.

My hand found the buck knife I always kept on my bedside table and I snuck out into the hallway, my back to the wall and all my senses open. My eyes scanned the living room, it was empty and quiet at first glance. Carefully I crept in and took in my surroundings. Everything was too quiet for my liking, way too quiet… and that's when I saw it. A shadow in the far corner of my eye. As I turned to look I was sent to the floor and something landed on top of me. I braced my feet against my attacker's chest and shoved him off me. I heard my coffee table snap and splinter as the body landed on it. Scrambling to my feet I barely had enough time to block an incoming punch and I hit the shelves behind me, landing in a pile of shards and broken sculptures.

My skin hurt from the many puncture wounds but I got up and lunged at the stranger, sending us to the floor and hitting him over and over. He grabbed my fist and squeezed so hard I thought I heard bones crack. He threw me off him but I landed on my feet and prepared for his next attack. Once he got close enough I drop kicked him and sent him into my entertainment system, stunning him just enough so I could sprint over and haul him up by his throat, he lashed out and hissed at me in fury. A pair of red eyes bored into mine and I immediately recognized I was holding a newborn vampire in my clutches. I brought the fucker's face closer and let a menacing growl rip up my throat. Stopping his hissing in seconds and his body going limp in my grip.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house? I'm not human." All he did was bear his teeth. "You can't hide her forever. We'll get her." I ignored his remark and tossed him over into the kitchen, smashing my cabinets in and started slamming his head into the counter. "Who sent you?" I ordered him, tightening my grip on his neck and hitting his head on the counter again, cracking the already damaged surface further. I wanted to know who would send a newborn to my house, thee was no way in hell he came here by himself he'd know I was not a human and leave, not attack me and wish for a death sentence. "Who fucking sent you to my house and what are you looking for? Answer me!" He groaned and stared up at me. "You won't get shit from me." I picked him up and snarled again. "Wrong answer."

With that I hurled him across the room and before he touched the ground I caught him again, slammed him up against the wall. "I'm not going to ask again, who sent you and what are you looking for?" He hissed again, struggling against my hold on him. I shoved him harder. "You better spit it out now punk or I swear I'll fucking kill you right her right now in the most painful way you can impossibly imagine." His eyes widened but he quickly composed himself, a wicked smile splitting his face. "Your going to die." Alright, that's it. No one threatens me. Once again I threw him to the floor, taking my knife and plunging it into his shoulder to keep him there. He yelled but was quickly cut off when my foot came down on his chest. Letting my claws come out and my fangs unsheathe themselves I brandished them both in his face. "As you can see you are talking to the wrong Shifter. So I expect you tell me what I need to hear in the next five seconds or I'll end your life nice and slow. And believe me I don't hold back on the pain. Five…"

He struggled under my strength. "She'll kill you! My mistress will kill you and that mate stealing bitch! You don't have chance!"

"Four…"

"I know she's here too, I can smell her, especially on you. they all know what her sent is and now they know yours. Your dead like she'll be."

"Three…"

"You'll never win. Once she finds her you wont be able to stop my mistress. Your going to feel her wrath. She'll make you feel her pain."

"Two…"

"She'll destroy you-"

I sunk my claws into his throat and twisted till I heard his neck snap, along with his ribs from the pressure I've been putting on him. His eyes bulged out at me. "One." With my other hand I tore his head off and tossed it away. "Told you I'd kill you." Still boiling over with fury I stormed over to the phone and dialed the only number I could think off.

"Hey Warren what's up?" The familiar voice answered. "A fucking leech is in my house that's what's up Kyle." I almost screamed into the receiver, my pendent heating up dramatically. "What! Why the hell is there a vampire in your house?" He asked in alarm. I could hear him scurrying around, probably trying to get stuff together to leave. "I have no fucking idea but that's what I plan to find out. But first I need help burning the body and a bottle of liquor." It took no time to get an answer from him. "I'm on my way." And then he hung up.

This wasn't happening, this just couldn't be happening to me. I looked around at my ruined loft, feeling more anger flooding my veins and threatening to burst though. This was bullshit! Complete and total bullshit and when I find out who caused this I wasn't going easy on them. Within minutes Kyle was at my door, I shoved a bag at him and took the bottle he was holding, taking a swig then hoisting the twitching vampire body over my shoulders. "What the hell is this?" He asked holding out the bag. "Vampire head." He almost dropped the bag but got a grip and followed me out. "So where we heading?" I looked up at the surrounding buildings, can't get caught if nobody sees you. "Up and over." With that I went into the nearest alley and easily got up without the use of my hands, meanwhile Kyle was scrambling up behind me. "What's the matter Kyle, not the cat you used to be?" "Fuck you Warren." He huffed. I readjusted the body on my shoulders. "Try to keep up old man!" I could feel his irritation as we moved from building to building, scaled walls, and vaulting over fences.

Even though I had extra weight on me to was great to be able to move freely and feel every muscle in my body move and burn with effort. I almost forgot how easy it was to travel on foot. My movements were fluid, my mind only focused on my destination. That destination happened to be deep in the forest, which if you were a Shifter only took a half hour to get there. "Reminds you of your Runner days huh?" I put down the body and started piling branches and dried leaves on top of it, lighting it with Kyle's Zippo lighter and throwing the bag as the flames consumed their meal. "Yeah, the good old days." I stared deeply into the fire, my mind trying to process everything. "He said something about having a mistress."

Kyle took a chug of the liquor and passed it to me. "Who?" I stared at the bottle for a moment, suddenly thinking what would Bella say to me if she saw I was trying to drown my anger in alcohol, decided to take a generous sip then felt a pang of guilt for doing it. Then I took another to numb my guilt away. And then another to forget I was numbing anything away in the first place. "The kid, he said he had a mistress and she was going to make my life a living hell." Shaking my head I passed the bottle back to him. "I think Gabe should know, I have a gut feeling I just put the Pride at risk for a vampire attack." A grim expression crossed his features. "Which means I'm back on the force. Fuck Sally isn't going to like this…" Guilt again racked at my already frazzled emotions. "I'm sorry Kyle I didn't mean to cause any trouble, hell I thought I left it all back in Manhattan-"

He held up his hand to shut me up. "It's alright Warren, there's no need to apologize there was no way any of us could've seen this coming." We fell into a strained silence as the fire slowly died away, quickly putting the ashes in pouches to be later scattered. We flew though the night at top speed, because now that the anger was ebbing away I finally realized I fucked up big time. Whoever this bitch was now would probably come after me for killing one of her followers, which led to so many other casualties. Besides the fact I was in danger, not that I really gave a shit I say bring it the fuck on, everyone around me was too. Well mostly everyone. From what I could see so far this unknown threat could only do damage two ways once she found out she lost one of her own, she could either come at me head on which would put her at risk for severe and possibly fatale damage or attack everyone around me to fuck with my head then attack me at my weakest point.

I feared for the latter because that was the most likely. It would be just my luck if that happened too. Immediately my mind went to Bella, I'd die if she got mixed up in this and ended up getting hurt because of my stupidity. Kyle led the rest of the way to Gabe's place, a small cozy house with brown shutters and fading yellow paint. Not something I expected but strangely nice. As soon as my feet touched the ground a man walked briskly from his house, tall, dark and broadly built. That'd be Gabe for ya, he looked like he could tear you in two with his bare hands but once his fierce jade eyes saw me he went from full on alert to surprised relief.

"Hey bro, long time no talk huh?" He nodded, his eyes taking in anything his dim porch lights portrayed of me. "Yeah." In seconds he had me wrapped in his arms and crushed into his chest. "Damn it I've missed you Warren. Six years and look at you, your practically full grown!" I smiled and held him at arms length. "You look good too Gabe. Being Alpha really suits you." Sadly my smile was short lived and he noticed. "What's wrong?" His eyes went from me to Kyle then back. "Your not going to like this Gabe." I informed him, he swallowed.

He knew me well enough to know I don't joke around with serious shit, in fact I used to punish anyone who went around causing fake situations. "Go ahead, hit me." I could see he was preparing for the worst, and hopefully he was. "I think I just started a war Gabe, the Pride is in trouble." As I anticipated he ran his hand over his face. "What kind of threat?" He asked, trying to keep himself calm. "Vampire." He cursed softly under his breath and looked at Kyle. "Inform the Pride. I want posts set up and patrols run, women and children go no where without escorts from the force and start gathering as many fighters and new recruits as quickly as possible. I want as much time to prepare before a strike can invade." Kyle nodded. "Understood." He disappeared into the forest. Gabe looked back at me and gestured towards his house. "I think you know where this is going." Unfortunately I did. Once I went over the threshold I knew what he planned to do. I followed him into what I saw was a conference room hidden in what was supposed to be the basement. A large flat screen was set against the far wall and a computer was set close by. A face was already on the screen, a face I didn't want to see at the moment. "Sorry about leaving so suddenly dad, but something important just came up." Gabe told him. Of course they where in the middle of a conversation, but it just made breaking the news to dad a little easier. I saw his brows furrow in confusion. I turned my head away, too ashamed to look at him. "What?" I balled my fists tightly and went up to the screen. Already feeling my chest tighten on me, making it harder to breathe. "I fucked up again…big time."

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Now i'd really would like to know how you all would want this to go, i got ideas but i really would like to know what you guys would like to see happen in future chapters. after all its my sworn duty as a writer to appeal to my reader's interest!

as always and since they make me extreamly happy...

reveiw please!


	8. Second Chances

I do not own Twilight Stepheine Meyer does, I only own my badass OC Warren.

I also want to give a shout out to aixa00 for her wickedly awesome reveiw and insperation for this chapter!

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I stood there in silence as Gabe and my father conversed about what precautions should be taken now that there was a threat to the Pride, taking the little time I had to myself to think back on what had just occurred back in my loft. I knew I was missing something, something I overlooked. I paced the length of the large room and felt my face pinch up in deep concentration.

The boy said something about a mistress, a leader of some sort. And if he was a lackey of this bitch then there were sure to be more where he came from. How many more I wasn't sure, probably hundreds. Then he mentioned something about a female's sent, that it was all over me and others knew it too. Threatened death would fall upon me if I didn't give this girl up. That was his reason for attacking me; his intentions were becoming that much clearer. He was tracking a person, someone he thought I was trying to keep from his mistress so he tried to take me out. Well that didn't go too well now did it? But who was I supposedly protecting? Who was this, as he put it bluntly before I killed him, this mate stealer? I tried to think of who's sent was on me, who I hung out with the most. Then it hit me, like someone sucker punched me in the face then rammed me in the chest with a battering ram. I wanted to roar in frustration, it was so damn simple! How did I not notice this before?

"Fucking son of a bitch!" I slammed my curled hands into the wall and was mildly shocked it crumbled away where my fist connected. The cuts on my hand reopening and oozing fresh blood though the bandages Bella had wrapped them in earlier. She'd probably be pissed I just did that. "Their after Bella!" Both of them snapped their heads in my direction, their conversation breaking off instantly. "Vampires are after Bella and they want to kill her!" The pendent around my neck burned and I clenched my teeth together to muffle a scream. "God damn it!" Gabe ran over to me in alarm and grabbed my hands, restraining me from hitting the wall again. "What the hell are you talking about Warren?" I glared up at him, irritation flaring up in me. "The vampire I killed, he said he was after a girl that this woman wanted to kill for stealing her mate. That if I didn't give her up I'd die too because her sent was all over me and he thought I was hiding her. Bella's the girl he was after I'm sure of it."

I looked over at my father, he knew who Bella was already. He'd understand. "I don't know exactly what Bella did but this chick is sending newborns to track her whereabouts. This could've been going on for weeks, even months and only now they showed themselves because I became a threat to her plans." Gabe led me over to stand closer to the screen, ripping off a part of his shirt to rewrap my damaged hand. "Does she even know she's being tracked?" he asked. I shook my head, trying to clear out the rage that was trying to cloud it.

Concentrate, I needed to concentrate. The Pride and Bella were in real danger here and me freaking out wasn't going to help either them. "No. She doesn't give off any signs of someone who knows their being watched, doesn't constantly look over her shoulder or gets antsy when we're in public. And even if she does suspect anything she obviously doesn't see it as a serious threat." I ran my hands though my hair, almost wanting to rip it out at the roots. "But this doesn't change that fact that I still screwed up. I could've brought the fuckin newborn in, questioned him more properly. But instead I killed him and ruined any chance of finding this women. If anyone gets hurt now it'll be my fault because once again I let everyone down, just like before."

I felt my father's eyes burning into me. "Warren Lee Walker you turn your ass around and look at me this instant." With some effort I turned around towards the flat screen, Gabe rubbed my back in soothing circles. "This wasn't your fault, none of it. You only did what you had to do to protect yourself and get whatever information you could out of him. Hell if a vampire showed up in my apartment and jumped me I'd kill the sucker too." I smiled to myself because I knew that was true. Damn he always knew how to lighten up any situation just by being rational. "And besides if you had to trash your whole place to get the info you got from him then questioning him would've been a waste of time anyway. All you did was follow your instincts baby, they don't make you do anything that effects you and your loved one's survival. As for what happened last time that wasn't your fault either and no one blames you for leaving the Pride. Everyone completely understood you needed time to heal and get over the pain you were, and still, suffering from Megan's betrayal. Besides you're a Walker, and Walkers don't just screw up." I gave him a crooked smile. "Sure dad. Whatever you say." We all shared half hearted smiles then an awkward silence filled the air around us. Gabe was the first to break it.

"You do realize you have to confront Bella on this issue Warren. There's something not adding up here and I have a feeling she's the key to understanding this whole thing." I was afraid he'd say something like that. So I just pretty much ended up back at square one, I had to tell Bella everything she ever heard in her life was a lie, especially what she knew about me. I mean I can't just tell her there's vampires watching her every move then not have her suspect anything about me…unless she already knew vampires existed and already suspected something off about me. The newborn did say she was a mate stealer, was it possible that Bella was with this vampire's mate and then he left this mistress for her? It was a highly unlikely scenario but I can't say I haven't seen it happen before. I knew a few vampires with significant human others, hell I was friends with quite a few of them. It was just hard imagining her with one, it just didn't look right to me.

But this time I had no choice. I had to talk to Bella, but when? Certainly not now, I couldn't bring myself to. "I know, but I'm not just gonna go into her house now in the middle of the night and scare her to death before she has time to process anything." I looked from my father to Gabe, because I truly didn't know what to do and was looking for their advice. Everything was so mixed up and complicated that I needed some kind of direction to follow. "There's a pack of Shifters that live here on the reservation, Wolves. They invited me to a bon fire in two weeks at First Beach to form an alliance. Bring her then and we'll tell her nice and easy. That way she knows she's not facing this horde alone." My father nodded in agreement. "That's a good approach Gabriel, but personally Warren you should be the one to tell her in private then let her meet the others, too much going on at once will overwhelm her. Besides she trusts you and by hearing it from you first she'll be more comfortable." I wasn't so sure about that. Would she really be comfortable with a vampire out to kill her and me being a Shifter who's willing to help? How do I know she won't just run from me, I didn't know if she could handle what I had to tell her. At least I had two weeks to prepare myself. Two weeks to warm her up to me enough to then accept me for who I really was, that I could protect her.

Damn it wasn't enough time! This was getting blown way out of proportion. I didn't understand how on earth she could just trust me with her life after knowing me for only a few weeks, it was crazy. But I had to try. Because if I didn't I'd risk loosing her, and if I did I knew I'd never forgive myself.

Then another thought popped into my head. What if this was fate acting up, that Bella was in trouble from day one and I was meant to save her? After all I was brought up to believe that there's no such thing as coincidences, and this definitely wasn't one. There was a reason I was here, why my brother just happened to call before I killed my mother and offered to let me come back home, why Bella walked into the bar that night before I went to kill myself, why I was standing here figuring out a way to protect both my former Pride and Bella from a vampire threat that wanted her dead. There was a reason for everything. Maybe this was fate giving me a second chance to prove I could keep someone in my life and protect them with everything I had. God knows I've given up on ever finding love once, yet the big guy upstairs decided that I just needed a little push in the right direction. Bella was that push. She didn't leave me when I needed her most, so I wasn't going to back out when she needed me most, even if she didn't know she needed me just yet.

After talking for a few more hours about tactics and recon, mainly me keeping a close eye on Bella until the bon fire, Gabe and I let dad go and he told me he'd talk to the Alpha of the Wolf pack about what was going on, the more help the better he put it. Then he offered me to stay at his place since mine was in ruins but I declined, saying I needed to be some place else. "Alright, just be careful sis." We shared a nice long hug, something I found I missed very much. "You know I will Gabe, you just worry about yourself and the Pride." He smiled halfheartedly then kissed my head. "It's my job to worry about you remember? I'm your big brother." I gave him another hug, told him to sleep well, then left at high speed to my next destination, Bella's house. I was too paranoid to leave her alone tonight.

The familiar white house came up in the distance and I felt an odd sense of serenity wash over me when I should be on high alert. I was relieved to see Bella didn't live that far from the Reservation, that way if I needed Gabe to get her when I couldn't he'd be there in no time flat. I found a large tree right next to her window and I headed straight for it, settling myself in a place were I could see everything but no one could see me. Perfect place to set up a stake out. Bella was sleeping soundly in her room, her blankets pulled tightly around her. I soon became extremely jealous of those blankets, I wanted in the worst way to replace them. But I was only here to watch over her, nothing more. Or at least I thought that's why I came here. Hours seemed to drag on as I sat there, nodding in and out of sleep and forcing my eyes to stay open. Just when I thought I was out for the count a scream vibrated painfully though my ears and nearly knocked me out of the tree.

Oh shit Bella! Before my mind could comprehend anything my body shot out of the tree and latched onto her window, threw it open and jumped inside. Why the hell wasn't her window locked? I would have to have a serious talk with her about that later. Bella was in her bed, thrashing about and screaming practically at the top of her lungs. For a moment I feared Charlie would barge in and find me here, but he never came. The guy must be a pretty heavy sleeper not to hear his own daughter screaming. "No! Stop it leave her alone!" I went straight to Bella and reached to touch her, shake or something, only to have my blood run cold at what she said next. "Leave Warren alone! Take me I'm the one you want not her! Let her go!" What in hell's name is making her dream of me being attacked in front of her, and why is she trying to switch places with me? I better hope my dream self is smacking her silly for being this stupid, because I couldn't bring myself to hit her in real life. Not that I'd even think about ever laying a hand on her in the first place. I climbed into bed next to her and hushed her soft whimpering, her thrashing fading into trembling. Even though she was asleep I knew the sound of my voice would calm her and assure her I wasn't in any way harmed. Hopefully changing this nightmare into a more pleasant dream.

"Bella, Bella baby I'm fine. I'm right here there's nothing to worry about." I told her gently, brushing my fingers over her cheek. "I'm okay." She instantly calmed down and relaxed under my touch. Then she did something that I didn't quite expect her to do, she moaned. And this wasn't just a soft noise like when she was napping on the couch, this was a moan laced with arousal. I could already feel myself getting wet and she hasn't even touched me yet, fuck this wasn't good. She pressed her body close to mine, her arms snaking around my waist and tracing patters on my lower back. I trembled as she mumbled something about needing me around, that if she lost me she didn't know what she'd do with herself. I was too preoccupied with the way her hands were touching me and her soft lips brushing against my collarbone. "Oh shit Bells, I'm going to have to restrain you if you keep this up." She smiled against my skin. "I like the way that sounds…" She sighed. I tried in vain to muffle a low growl slipping though my teeth when her fingers trailed over my taut stomach, feeling my claws lengthen and my fangs itch to brand the now exposed skin of her neck. Get a grip Warren she's asleep! She has no idea what she's saying right now and probably wont remember any of this in the morning. All this sex talk is in her head, so stop getting turned on and get some fucking control over yourself already! I refrained from touching her in any way, fearing if I did it would either arouse her more or cause her to wake up. I didn't want neither of them to happen so I just lay there and endured this delicious torture until finally it stopped and she fell back into unconsciousness. As her hold on me went limp I found myself unable to leave her side. _Unable? _I heard myself asking. _Or don't want to? _I let the question sink in for a bit, then decided yeah I definitely could leave if I wanted to, but I would never want to. If I left now I could risk her having another gut wrenching nightmare, or a newborn could sneak in and attack her…or maybe because I just needed to feel her this close. To have her envelop me in her arms and never let me go, to give me some form of comfort in all this chaos. Damn it was hard to feel this way for her and not have any affection returned. But I had a feeling I'd get my reward soon, not sure how but I would.

This time I didn't fall asleep as I lay there with Bella curled up by my side, my arms wrapped protectively around her and my chin resting on top of her head. I was on high alert the entire time and I swore I didn't even blink once. I was on a mission now after all. Protect my mate and save my former Pride…my mate…Bella was _my _mate. I repeated that over and over in my head, each time I felt as if this huge bubble of excitement was growing in my chest threatening to burst at any moment. She was just as much my mate as I was hers. "If only you knew that though Bells…if only you knew."

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Probably not the longest chapter in the world but hey I'll do better on the next one, I promise!

As usual reviews of any type are welcome, expecially ones that ask questions or give tips as to what the reader would like to see in future chapters *hint, hint*


	9. So Many Questions, So Little Time

I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I only own my badass OC Warren.

Again i used a song in this chapter, it's My Hero by the wicked awesome band Foo Fighters! so i also have to add they and their record company owns the song not me.

Please enjoy yet another greatly anticipated chapter my lovely veiwers!

And just to let everyone know, this is a two week time skip so a lot happened like Warren is in school now, she's visting her brother on the Rez, and she made friends with Bella's high school buddies. oh and shes still working on trying to fight Victoria's vampire horde

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Nothing was better on a regular school day then riding in your car rocking out to All That Remains, making your own rhythm against the steering wheel, and looking over into your rear view to see your all time favorite person smiling at you from her truck. I stuck my hand out the window to flip said person off, only to have her return the kind gesture in my mirror and smile even wider.

Okay so I lied when I said a few weeks wasn't enough time to befriend a person, Bella and I were as close now as any two females could be. We practically ran on a schedule now, Monday through Thursday we'd meet up to do homework with a few boys from the Reservation then she would drop by my place so she could watch me work on one of my latest master pieces, Friday and Saturday I spent in the Swan residence and Sundays I spent with my brother and the Pride. It was nice to finally have things to do and people to see who actually enjoyed my company.

But of course there was still the case of wiping out this vampire horde that was still tracking Bella. I'd see one or two of them occasionally, walking down the other side of the street but all I had to do was pull Bella close to me to keep them at bay. They all knew now I wasn't to be taken lightly, after all I've killed seven of the fuckers over the past few days, resulting in the replacement of countless pieces of furniture and sculptures or some minor property damage. I couldn't say killing all these vampires didn't satisfy my inner beast though, in fact I found myself better to control my rages with each rouge I killed off. Sick I know, but it kept me from harming myself and making Bella worry more for my wellbeing.

I cut the music just as we pulled up into the school's parking lot. Like usual as soon as my feet touched the ground Bella was by my car and giving me my morning hug. "Good morning beautiful!" I chimed, reaching behind me into the consol to grab our coffee I brewed fresh earlier this morning. I noticed she wore a khaki capris and a white blouse, and damn she looked hot in it. But then again when didn't she look hot? "And a good morning to you too Warren." She said taking her cup and sipping generously from it. Her eyes fell closed and she sighed in contentment. "Mmm, hazelnut, vanilla creamer…" She snapped her fingers "And two sugars." I laughed. "What are you a coffee conosur?" She hit my arm as we walked over to a blue van, where a group of teens were talking amongst themselves.

"Yo Mikey! What's up my man?" A blond headed kid turned around and smiled at me "We were just about to set up without you two. Alarm clock go off late or something?" I playfully kidney punched him. Mike could be such an ass sometimes I swear, he's lucky he's so damn cute. "Hey we're here so shut your trap already, Tyler can you toss me my guitar? I wanna tune it before everyone gets here." A tall athletic boy reached into the back of the van and tossed an instrument my way. "Thanks man." As I tuned my guitar the others started setting up the rest of the instruments. "What song are you playing this week?" Bella asked me, taking a seat next to me in Tyler's van. "My Hero by the Foo Fighters, I think it'll be a hit with the student body. It has a lot of deep feeling and great cords. Wait until you hear it you'll love it."

After a few minutes of warm up practice everyone got into position, Mike on his drums, Tyler on Bass, and me on lead guitar and barbwire covered microphone courtesy of my awesome big brother Gabe. "Alright men, let's put on a fucktastic show!" Bella took her favorite place sitting by my mic stand and smiled up at me. Right on que the rest of the student body flooded in and started gathering near our makeshift stage. "Good morning Forks High! Hope you all had your healthy dose of caffeine and or sugar because Bandslam is about to begin and last thing I want is to blow your minds all over the parking lot, your gonna need them in a few minutes." Everyone laughed as I picked up my guitar, ripped a few skull splitting cords and began to introduce the other players. "This week the band consists of Tyler Crowley on the Bass guitar and Michel, A.K.A. Mike Newton on drums. They will be helping me perform a song from the Foo Fighters. Hope you all enjoy it." With that we started, and the crowd went insane, even a few of the staff came out to listen.

_too alarming now to talk about_

_take your pictures down_

_and shake it out_

_truth or consequence, say it aloud_

_use that evidence race it around_

_there goes my hero_

_watch him as he goes_

_there goes my hero_

_he's ordinary_

_don't the best of them bleed it out_

_while the rest of them peter out_

_truth or consequence, say it aloud_

_use that evidence, race it around_

_there goes my hero_

_watch him as he goes_

_there goes my hero_

_he's ordinary_

_kudos my hero_

_leaving all the best_

_you know my hero_

_the one that's all_

_there goes my hero_

_watch him as he goes_

_there goes my hero_

_he's ordinary_

_there goes my hero_

_watch him as he goes_

_there goes my hero_

_he's ordinary_

The music faded away and the students went wild. I looked down at Bella to see her clapping along with everybody else. "Fantastic as always!" She yelled over the crowd. "Really?" I yelled back. "I thought I was a little rusty today." It was a great feeling seeing all these people gathering here each week to start their day off on a good note, knowing that there wouldn't be much bullshit going on the rest of the day because no one was in a sour mood. This was a chance for everyone to come together and see that even though they all weren't alike or didn't have the same interests, they were coming together to enjoy the one thing I think every person on this planet has in common, their taste in music. But of course when there was one great moment in life an asshole always has to come around and cut the fun short. The asshole here though happened to be this snotty blond bitch named Lauren Mallory. "Great job everybody, you got some serious talent." I commented on Tyler and Mike as they were packing away everything into the van. "Well I thought the music was pretty shitty. Especially in the singing department Warren, you sounded like your throat was made out of sandpaper." I heard a chorus if "Ohs" but I just grinned and adjusted my hat.

"Well Lauren you wouldn't know good music if it came up and smacked you in your extremely overdone face." To my delight her smile fell and her eyes burned in fury. "At least I look decent when I go out in public scar face." Everyone suddenly went dead silent, looking at me seeing what I would do next. They probably expected a cat fight or something. I personally didn't care, in fact I was about to inform her that a hundred people beat her to that nickname but Bella surprisingly beat me to it. "Don't you dare make fun of Warren, she's more attractive in you in more ways in one and your just jealous because every guy in the school wants her more then you." My eyebrows rose as I stared at her. She just told off the most, or should I say was, the most popular girl in Forks High school. I was stunned momentarily, no one has ever done that before. Usually I had to stick up for myself. I think I just got a newfound respect for this girl. And on top of that she looked fucking cute when she was pissed off.

Lauren glared at Bella wish malice. "I wouldn't be talking if I were you Swan, after all Edward left your ugly ass last semester. So obviously I'm not the only one with men issues." Bella suddenly looked as if she was slapped in the face, then her beautiful brown eyes rimmed with tears. Then something strange happened to me, almost like something clicked inside my head and something sparked. _Someone hurt my mate. _I glared at Lauren and in a few quick strides I had her up against Tyler's van by her shirt. It was one thing to make fun of me, I didn't care what anyone thought about me. But make Bella upset and you just earned yourself a death sentence.

"You fucking bitch. Did you enjoy that little stunt of you just pulled? Because I swear it'll be your last." Hands were grabbing at me and pulling me back, forcing me to release my hold. "Come on Warren she's not worth it. Just walk away." Mike was telling me in an undertone, he along with everyone else knew I had my anger issues, they didn't know the extent I could do with it though. But I let him drag me back, my breathing coming out forced and shallow. "I'm gonna kill her Mike, I swear I'm going to fucking tear her throat out for doing that to Bella." I struggled against his hold and Tyler had to come over to help him. "You hear me you piece of trash?" I yelled in her direction. "Your gonna fucking pay for this!" She backed into the van and stared at me as if I lost my mind.

I was yanked back by Mike and Tyler until I was on the opposite side of the building, still steaming but keeping my cool long enough to ask where Bella was. "Angela took her back here to comfort her, damn Lauran just earned herself the title of the lowest person on this planet." One of them added, I was too pissed to see who said it. My mood was momentarily dissolved though when I saw Bella crying into her hands, Angela hugging her and trying to soothe her. "Bella." I called out to her, I didn't know it at the moment but the way I said her name was as if I was talking to a lover, assuring and calm. She looked up and practically ran into my arms, which were always open for her. For awhile I just let her sob into my chest while I just held her, the others left a few minutes ago.

"I didn't kill Lauren in case you wanted to know, Mike wouldn't let me." She sniffed and looked up at me and I was slightly amused to see her eyes still burned in anger. "I wish you did, I would've choked the crap out of that witch myself if I wasn't such a cry baby." I grabbed her shoulders and held her out at arms length, no way was I gonna let her put herself down like this. "It's okay to cry Bella, you were upset and had every right to be. If it makes you feel any better I was just as upset as you were, and if I wasn't such a crazy person I probably would've cried too." I gave her my quirky smile and that instantly made her face light up though her tears.

"You don't look like the crying type." She told me. "Your always the strong one, no one can break you down or make you fall to your knees and beg. Nothing seems to shake you Warren." I had to chuckle a little at that, she was making me out to be someone I wasn't. Might as well clear that up now before she got the wrong idea about me. "There are the key words, it seems nothing can shake me. Everything shakes me Bells, I just portray it more differently then most people." I grazed my thumb over her cheek, her eyes fluttered at the contact. Again I felt a pang of possession. If we weren't in school and under different circumstances I'd probably would've kissed her right then and there.

"In case you haven't noticed yet I tend to express myself in a very unique matter. When I should be cowering in fear I'm the one fighting back. When I should be sad I get pissed off. When I should be calm I'm slamming skanks against vans threatening to end their life for hurting my best friend." At the last part she gave me a look of pure confusion. "But Lauren didn't hurt me." I rolled my eyes at her, she had to be joking. "She didn't have to actually harm you to hurt you, emotional pain hurts just as much as physical pain but if she did try to hit you the bitch would be lying in a hospital bed right now in a full body cast."

I grabbed her hand and started walking around the building. "But I wouldn't worry about her today anyway, I scared her pretty good when I yelled I was gonna tear her fucking throat out." She laughed and the tears finally stopped. The sounds of sirens though snuffed out the mood rather quickly. A police cruiser pulled up to us and Charlie got out. "Hey Charlie, what are you doing here?" Bella asked. He half smiled at her then looked at me. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to escort you off the school grounds Warren." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Lunch break already officer Swan, or do you just miss me?" He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"I wish it were that. I got a call saying you threatened to kill a student." Now I could've flipped out on him about how that bitch made his daughter cry, but I just smiled and held up my wrists. "Yes, I've been a very bad girl officer. Slap some cuffs on me and throw me in the brig." Bella looked alarmed and kept glancing between Charlie and me. "You aren't really going to arrest her are you Charlie?" He shrugged. "Unless she puts up a fight I don't see a reason to." I huffed as she gave me a pleading look. "I ain't gonna fight him Bella don't worry. You just go and have a good day and call me if you need me okay?" I hugged her and placed a kiss on top of her head before heading over to the cruiser. I slid across the hood and jumped into the passenger side. "I call shot gun!"

I saw students pilling out to see what all the noise was about and I gave them all the devil horns. "See all you fuckers when I get back from jail, Warren out!" I yelled out the open window. They all cheered and whistled as we drove off, I waved to Bella before we got too far. I really hope she'd be okay without me there today, but at least I knew there would be people watching over her for me in my short absence. "Mind explaining why you tried to kill a student?" I took off my hat and shook out my head, last thing I wanted was hat hair.

"Wow I just went from threatening someone to actually attempting to do a crime in five seconds, a new record." Charlie gave me a hard look. "I'm being serious Warren. Don't think I forgot about how you get when your rubbed the wrong way. What did this girl say about you that got you all worked up?" I sighed. Of course I was the bad guy in this situation. "Hey just because I threw Lauran Mallory up against Tyler's van doesn't mean she didn't throw the first punch." He glanced quickly at me then back out the windshield. "She hit you?"

I laughed at his concern. "Please Charlie when have I ever let that happen? This girl couldn't throw a punch even if she tried. But anyway she said something to Bella that made her hysteric, something about a guy named Edward and I don't know, I guess I just snapped. I didn't hit her though you can ask the whole student body they'll back me up, she started the whole damn thing with her big fat mouth. So I don't understand why I'm the only one getting in trouble here." He didn't answer me as he pulled up to the station, he seemed in deep thought. Was it something I said? We went into the station and I was greeted by everyone there.

"Hey Warren did you bring lunch? I'm starving here." A young man asked, standing up from his desk to shake my hand. "Nope, sorry dude. But if your all good I'll take you all out to dinner, my treat." A loot of hoots and howling were sent my way, I always had a way keeping on the police's good side. Charlie gestured over to an interrogation room, I followed him inside. Man this brought back memories. "Home sweet home." I mumbled under my breathe.

For awhile we just sat there at the metal table, he just stared at me as I twirled my hat around in my hand. "So are we just gonna sit here all day or do you wanna report from me?" Charlie blinked and shook his head. "Huh? Oh, yeah sure. Um…start at the beginning." I crossed my arms and watched him intently. "Well you know I do the before school bandslam every week, I preformed a song with Tyler Crowley and Mike Newton and after I told them what a great job they did Lauren came up started criticizing us, then she called me scar face when I said something back to defend them. Bella didn't take the insult too well so she told Lauren off. Told the bitch that she was only jealous of me because ever since I enrolled in the school the boys have been all over me instead of her. Then she told Bella that some guy named Edward left her so she shouldn't be talking…" The man wasn't even paying attention to a word I was saying, he was looking right though me and nodding at every word that came out of my mouth.

"And then I dragged Bella behind the school and we had hot angry sex. We would've gone a few more rounds but then I heard your sirens. Did you even notice her shirt was backwards? Oh and Mike was watching the entire time I think he enjoyed it." He again nodded his head. "Uh huh." I snorted and threw my hat at his face.

"Yo! Huston to Charlie I think we have a problem with our communication connection!" He blinked rapidly and focused his gaze on my questioning face. "Sorry Warren I was a little preoccupied." He handed me back my hat and rubbed his face.

"I have a feeling something I said earlier bothered you. Mind sharing?" He suddenly looked a hell of a lot older then he was, like just by saying that I almost exhausted him. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to of course. I can see that I'm going into uncharted waters here and the last thing I want is to upset you." It felt like I was back at the lesbian bar with Bella all over again, only this time I was in an interrogation room with her officer father.

I was going into a very sensitive subject that obviously was straining on these two. Was it because of this Edward guy? I was tempted to ask but Charlie said something before I could. "When this Lauren girl mentioned Edward, how upset did Bella look to you." My hands tightened at remembering how stung she looked, but I shook the images away. "Devastated...damn I can't even describe what I saw. She just looked like she was shocked, then she started crying…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say next. We fell back into our staring match and after a long moment of thought it hit me. "Bad breakup." He simply nodded. "Bella's gonna have to fill in the blanks for you. I don't feel right telling you anything more, if that makes sense." It did. It wasn't his story to tell and I completely understood why he wasn't comfortable with telling her tale. But this didn't stop the millions of questions from popping into my head. And I needed answers to them now, not tomorrow, not next week, now. I didn't know why I was so desperate but my gut was screaming that this was it, this was the thing I was waiting this long for. The one thing to finally break Bella and understand her completely.

I knew once I confronted her about this it would open the door to my past…and surprisingly I was okay with that.

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I know you guys have been waiting on the edge of your seat for Warren and Bella to finally come out to each other, so i'm proud to say that moment is right around the corner...hopefully in the next chapter we'll see how things go lol

besides that though I'm so excited! i've gotten so many reviews and i'd like to say this story wouldn't be going if it wasn't for all the fabulous people who wrote them. (you know who you are and if you don't then obviously you got amnisia and need me to beat my thanks into you)

so keep all those reveiws coming because i love them so much! and you'll be my all time favorite person if you do


	10. Something Unexpected

i do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I only own my badass OC Warren.

Sorry i haven't updated in awhile guys, i had to go on a road trip to visit my grandma, she just finished another round of Chemotherapy and this was the only time i would get to see her for a long while...

but i made sure to put a lil something extra special for you all at the end to make it up! as always enjoy and review!

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The whole day went by in a blur. Without Warren there it made my mood worse and harder to handle, I don't think I was paying attention to any of my teachers or friends today. I was going back into my mental withdrawals and I didn't like it. When I went into my mind all that was there were forgotten dreams and bitter memories, memories I'd like to forget.

No matter how hard I tried though they wouldn't stop coming, it was as if I was being pummeled by a never ending onslaught of painful images and emotions I've been bottling up. It got so bad I ended up excusing myself a few hours before school ended, saying I felt to overwhelmed to stay in school. As I drove home though I knew I should've called Warren and told her I wasn't going to be there when she came by to pick me up, but I couldn't bring myself to call her. I don't know why but I just couldn't.

I parked my truck in the driveway and got out, instead of going inside though I plopped down on the front porch and buried my face in my hands. Now that I was alone the memories I tried so hard to suppress all this time suddenly broke though and flooded my mind. It was like trying to cover a crack in a huge tank, no matter how hard I tried to plug the hole the water just kept coming out.

_"Bella, I don't want you to come with me."_

_"Of course, I'll always love you… in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm… tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I am not human."_

_"You're not good for me, Bella."_

_"I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I'd never existed."_

_"Don't worry. You're human—your memory is no more than a sieve. Time heals all wounds for your kind. Well, I won't forget. But my kind… we're very easily distracted."_

_"__It will be as if I'd never existed…"_

My fingers dug into my scalp and I screamed though clenched teeth. I wanted so badly to stop the hurt, my heart felt like it was being torn to shreds by burning knives. It was so bad I thought for a moment I'd pass out…but sadly I didn't. Tears started pouring out from my eyes in endless streams. Why? Why did he leave me? Why did he say he loved me then say he didn't, it didn't make sense at all.

Did he forget all of the things we've been through together, did that mean anything to him at all? He lied to me, he lied about everything. He didn't love me. He said we'd be together forever and it never happened. The picture perfect life I dreamt about went up in flames the moment he told me I wasn't going away with him. The day he left me alone in that forest…

"_I'll never leave you Bella, never. I love you too much to do that." _

I looked around to see who was talking to me, but I was alone. The trembling in my hands slowed and the pain in my chest started to ebb away. That voice, who said that? It sound so familiar but I couldn't place a face to it. I tried to bring the voice back, try and replay it in my head, but it was gone as fast as it came. It left me feeling warm and safe though, like a pair of warm arms embracing and protecting me from the bad memories. Soon I was calm enough to get up off the porch and walk towards the forest next to my house, the same forest he left me in.

_Come on you cowered. _I heard a voice say in the back of my head. _Just say his name and get it over with, it wasn't like forcing yourself to forget it helped you all that much anyway. _I stopped just at the edge, inhaling a shaky breath. This was the forest Edward Cullen left ,e in the day he and his family fled Forks, this is the forest where Edward said we would be better off going our separate ways. That he was kidding himself by thinking he could be with a human. Was I not good enough for him? Maybe Lauren was right, maybe he did leave me because I wasn't worthy enough for him. After all I was a plain Jane, there was nothing beautiful or alluring about me. Standing next to Edward I always felt so obsolete.

But Warren complemented me everyday, saying how amazing I looked every time she saw me. But that didn't count right? She was my friend, friends were supposed to complement each other…right? I dropped my school bag on the ground and started walking into the woods, not knowing where I was going. I just let my body take control and lead the way. Each step I took though was as if I was retracing my steps from that day, I could picture Edward walking with me, his beautiful angelic face portraying no emotion.

What am I doing? I shouldn't be out here by myself, Warren would have a fit if she found out I was doing this. Wait, why did I care what Warren would think? The question had me stopping in my tracks. Now that I stopped moving I saw I didn't recognize anything around me, but I knew I was a long way from my house to just retrace my steps and walk back, I didn't even know which direction I came from. Fear started gripping at my chest and my hands started shaking again. Great, I was lost and in panic. Just perfect.

I patted down my pockets in search of my phone, praying to God I didn't leave it in my bag outside my forest. With a sigh of relief I pull it out and found I barely had a signal. I opened it up and stared at the key pad for a minute, contemplating on whether or not to call Warren. Why I wanted to call her I didn't know, but she just seemed like the perfect person to call. I shook my head and held down the 3 button, waiting for the speed dial to process the numbers. The dial tone rang for only a second before she picked up. "Jeez Bells what the hell? I went down to pick you up and everyone told me you left early and that you looked pretty wrecked. You almost gave me a heart attack here, I was worried sick." I never thought just hearing her voice would make me feel better. Well time to break the news to her. "I-I'm fine. But I really need you to come get me." My voice started breaking much to my dismay, I really was scared here.

Her tone of voice suddenly changed, lower, slightly aggressive. "Where are you?" I sniffed and ran my hand though my hair. "Um, the forest outside my house. I don't know where I am." I could hear her cursing away from the phone on the other line. "Okay Bells I need you to listen to me alright? Do not move from where you are. I want you to stay there and don't move, not even a step. I don't care if you hear or see anything you do not move until I get there. I'll come get you, you don't get me even if I call you. Just guide me to where you are. Do you understand me? Don't move. And breathe Bella." She ordered me. I gulped down some air, still feeling unease. She softened her voice, almost sounding tender.

"I'll come get you baby okay? Don't worry. I'll be there before you know it." She was about to hang up I could feel it, but I was quick to intercept. "No! Wait don't hang up, please don't hang up." I pleaded. There was a short pause before she answered. "Okay I won't hang up. But I don't know how long the connection will last so if I get cut off your screwed for awhile."

We didn't talk, I just wanted to hear her, the way her breathing was steady and calm, her voice softly singing to a song she was listening to. A twig snapped in the distance and my head turned towards the sound. "Warren I think I heard something." She stopped mid verse and cursed again. "Don't you move Bella." She reminded me sternly. "I'm almost-" I never heard what she said next because I was suddenly sent flying though the trees. I could feel my skin being ripped open and my clothing catch on stray branches, I landed heavily on my side and hit my head against something solid, a rock most likely. The world around me started spinning and a painful throbbing started pulsing inside my skull. "Bella? Bella what the fuck happened?" I could hear Warren's voice rise in panic, but she sounded muffled still. I realized my cell was near me, right by my head. "Warren…" I whispered breathlessly. "Are you alright? Bella answer me damn it-"

A sudden crunch near my head cut her off, I could already imagine how pissed she looked right now. "You really shouldn't be out here all alone Miss. Bella, you could get seriously injured." I heard a thickly accented voice say to me. "Where's your mate? I heard he and his family left you here to fend for yourself." I tried to focus my vision on the shadowy figure standing in front of me, he had olive skin and dark hair…the accent…wait. "Laurent?" The figure nodded. "I'm honored you remembered my name. It's been awhile since we've last seen each other." He walked closer, kneeling by my side and reaching to touch my head. I tried moving away but he brushed aside my hair gently and ran his fingers over the wound there. "Ah, you seemed to have hurt yourself my dear." I glared at him. "That seems to happen when you go flinging people around in the forest dumbass." I was actually surprised I said that, Warren's blunt sarcasm was definitely rubbing off me.

Laurent seemed mildly shocked as well, but then he started laughing. "I see we have a bit of an attitude problem now don't we?" He looked at the blood on his fingers with great hunger before licking them slowly. My stomach reeled just by watching that. It was sick, vile and everything else in between. "I'm sorry about that though, really I am. I just couldn't control myself, I haven't fed in weeks." He smiled down at me warmly, sending chills down my spine. "But don't worry, I'll make it quick and painless. It will be almost as if your going to sleep." Wait he was going to kill me? Wait, I thought he was the nice one, he helped us track down James when he was after me, why would he do this? "No, please." I managed to get out, my head was still swimming so I couldn't say much else. He hushed me and smoothed my hair. "Don't worry Bella, I'll take care of you. Besides this fate is so much better then what Victoria had planned for you. She'll be mad that I killed you before she had the chance." He added the last part to himself. I could feel my eyebrows pinch together in confusion. "Victoria?" He smiled again, this time deviously. "Oh, you don't know don't you? Victoria is still looking to have her revenge for James's death. She plans to make you die the most gruesome and painfully slow death she can manage. She's had you followed for weeks, I bet you didn't even notice some articles of your clothing have mysteriously vanished…"

Now that he said that I had noticed the other day while I was getting ready to go to school one of my favorite tops was missing, I just thought I had misplaced it. It didn't make any sense though, didn't she run after Edward killed James, why was she after me? What did I do to offend her and make her want to kill me? "I can see the confusion in you Bella. My you really are an open book aren't you?" Laurent told me. "It's really quite simple if you think about it. Edward killed James, and now that he's not here to protect you she's going to exact her revenge. A mate for a mate if you will." My eyes widened and my heart raced painfully in my chest, only making my head throb more.

I wish Warren were here right now, I needed her here. But she was human, how could she defeat a vampire? It didn't matter though she was intimidating enough, I'm sure Laurent wouldn't even guess she was human.

"I'm sorry to cut this chat short dear but I really am thirsty, but like I said you won't feel a thing." He lowered his head to my neck and brushed his fingertips against my pulse point, sighing as he did so. It just made me even more nauseous then I already was. "I can see why Edward really had such a difficult time…your just so mouthwatering…" Just as his lips barely touched my skin there was this huge blast, almost like a gunshot. He was gone in a flash just as a voice rang though the clearing. "You so much as twitch buddy and the next shot in your fucking head." I could hear Laurent hiss as someone ran towards me. "Shit Bella, I thought I told you not to fucking move!" I could barely see by this point but I knew it was Warren. Just that small fact made me feel ten times as better. Her hands roamed my body in search of injuries, stopping here and there when she found some. But when she examined my head she made this noise, something between a growl and a groan.

"Did that fucker do this to you Bella? Tell me he fucking did this." She sounded like she was looking for an excuse to beat Laurent to a bloody pulp. I tried to say yes but my head was so muddled I couldn't think of the right words and just groaned in pain. "You better hope she doesn't have a fucking concussion or you'll be in so much shit you won't be able to get yourself out!" I heard her yell over at Laurent.

"You don't have any idea who your dealing with do you?" He questioned her with malice. Warren just snorted, she obviously didn't care that her life just got threatened. But she didn't know that Laurent was a vampire, she really didn't know who she was dealing with. I wanted to scream ay her to just run, to leave me and save herself, but I couldn't find my voice. "Actually I do asshole, but the real question here is do you?" Silence. That's all I heard, it was deathly quiet between them and for some odd reason it was comforting.

"That's what I thought." She gingerly scooped me up and started walking over to the trees. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against her shoulder, unable to comprehend anything more then the fact that I was in her arms and I was safe. "Don't worry Bells I got ya. Just rest now." She whispered in my ear. "And just where do you think your going with my meal?" There was a sudden gust of wind and I found myself flying though the air again, my body slamming into the base of a tree. This time I thought my head would explode.

"Bella!" I tried to pick up my head but it felt like it was weighed to the ground. I thought my vision was screwed up before, it was even worse now. I tried to focus my eyes enough to find Warren, to see if she was okay. She had to be okay… I saw a figure crouched in the distance, was that her? "You go near her and I'll kill you." Okay that had to be her. But her voice sounded awfully gruff, like a growl almost.

"We will have to just see then now wont we?" She growled again then stopped suddenly, looking towards the trees before smiling, or at least I thought she was smiling. "I think I'll let my friends here handle you." Friends? Did somebody come with her? I didn't see anyone follow her in. The clearing erupted into different pitches of snarls and hisses, getting closer as Warren made her way over to me. "This can't be!" I heard Laurent yell in disbelief.

"Well you better start believing fucker. And you might want to start running now." Warren mumbled as she picked me back up. She started walking again but paused momentarily. I made out a large brown shape but couldn't find the strength to focus enough to see what it actually was. "She'll be fine, I'll be keeping a close eye on her you just get rid of the fucker who did this." The brown blur disappeared and she continued walking.

"How are you feeling Bella? How bad is your head?" I closed my eyes because keeping them open made my head hurt more. "Throbbing, but I just need to lay down for awhile…" She held me close to her chest, one of her hands accidentally sliding under my shirt. Without even thinking I moaned softly into her neck. "I'm so sorry Bells." She told me. "We'll be at your house soon." She must've thought she caused me more discomfort. "Warren…what about…back at the clearing…" She hushed me hugged my body closer to her chest, stepping over a log and picking up her pace to a slow jog. "I'll explain everything later, I promise. Just rest now. Everything's gonna be alright." I sighed and felt myself on the brink of blacking out but the sound of Warren's heartbeat gave me something to concentrate on.

"Okay Bells, We're going up to your room now." We were at my house already? Wow that was fast. Warren climbed the stairs to my bedroom and gingerly placed me on the bed, she stripped off her shirt and pressed it to my head. "Your lucky, it isn't as deep as I thought it was." Now that I wasn't moving my vision started to improve, and automatically they trained on Warren's figure. She was just so beautiful, I couldn't look away.

My fingers reached out to trace a scar right below her collarbone. "Where did you get all these anyway? You never told me." Her body went ridged under my touch. "Well lets just say I've had a few bad run ins over the years." I scooted closer to her and placed my other hand around her neck. "Oh come on Warren," I wined. "What are you afraid of?" Her hands latched on to my wrists and I found myself being pinned to the mattress with Warren straddling my waist. "How hard did you hit your head Bella? Your never usually this touchy feely with me. In fact you've never acted like this." I almost didn't hear her question, her breath was so close to my face it made my thoughts spin.

I felt a smile form on my face. "Maybe it's because I kinda like you." I said wiggling beneath her. Her eyes widened in appall. "Okay you hit your head pretty fucking hard." Her body was pressed close to me as she tried to restrict any form of movement I tried to make. Her face was still rather close to mine, a sudden thought hit me. "Are you going to kiss me Warren?" Her hold on my wrists slacked and I took the chance to free my hands and run them up her sides. A low growl emitted from her slightly parted lips, sending a pleasurable shiver down my spine.

"Oh God Bells…" I heard her breathe gruffly in my ear. "You really shouldn't do that." I grinned and wrapped one of my leg around her waist, pulling our bodies closer together. "But I think you like it." Another growl rumbled though her teeth and her hand reached under my back to push me up and meet her waiting lips. It was heated and possessive, she had me turning into a hot mess in her arms before I had a chance to respond back properly. Every nerve ending in my body became super charged and extremely sensitive to any touch or caress she gave me. My hands instantly dove themselves into her hair, tugging at it so slightly. I moaned deeply into her mouth as she forced my own open to slip her warm tongue inside to explore its depths, causing the kiss to deepen and her nails dig into my skin.

Her free hand slipped down to my thigh then slowly back up the length of my body, only to stop at my neck. I gasped as her thumb pressed into my throat, I felt myself suddenly go limp. Warren broke away, breathing heavily and her body slightly trembling. "I'm sorry Bella." And that was the last thing I heard before the darkness completely consumed me.

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as always review, review, review! i really like to hear (or rather read) what you guys think of this story, your opionion is always appreciated!


	11. There's Gotta be Another Way

I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I only own my totally badass OC Warren

Again, im sorry for the wait. I was working on a new fanfic, and it took a little longer to update then usual but here it is!

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Warren's P.O.V.

What the fuck did I just do? That was the question that was repeating over and over again in my head as I paced restlessly in her kitchen for the next couple of hours. I kissed Bella, holy fucking shit scratch that mother I practically made out with her! Part of me wanted to be excited, jump around hootin and hollering that I finally got the guts to do it. Another part of me though was freaking out because that little stunt could've possibly ruined everything.

If Bella walked down here and she remembered that kiss, I wasn't sure what she would think of me. _She'd be disgusted, after all she did have a boyfriend. _Some sinister part of me spat. I growled inwardly. How could I let her get to me like that, where was my self control? I could only imagine what I could've done if I hadn't thought of that pressure point technique I picked up. I shivered at the thought. A lot of things, I could've done a lot of things…things I might regret later on if I let it happen.

But I guess that's why I found the strength to stop before it got anywhere, it didn't feel right. I mean come on! I was gonna take advantage of a girl who just suffered from a head injury, how sick does that sound?

I had the strongest urge to run then, to just get as far away from her as I could. It was getting too dangerous for me to be around her. I was still trembling from her caresses, my lips still stinging from our kiss. If Bella ever touched me again I didn't know if I could stop myself from taking her. I could imagine it now; we'd be out just walking around, her hand would brush against mine and I'd drag her to the nearest alleyway, tear off her cloths and fuck her to an oblivion. Even if she objected it wouldn't have mattered to me I'd be too far gone to control my actions. But she didn't know about any of my actions, she only knew what I let her know. And as far as she's concerned I'm a troubled teenager with a fucked up past, my father is a soldier in the Army and my mother want's nothing to do with me, and my older brother ran his own store. The last one I actually forced on Gabe, making him buy a rundown shop and fix it up. He's still pissed off at me for making him do that.

I leaned against the counter and rubbed my face. What the hell was I gonna do? Bella would be waking up any minute now, fuck me. I told her I would tell her everything she wanted to know, hopefully she wouldn't recall that and buy me more time. If I could just delay her till this weekend then it would all come together smoothly. But if she did remember anything from this afternoon then I was royally fucked. All the planning my brother and I did, the late night meetings with the Pride and the Quileute wolf pack Alpha, it'd all go down the drain if she saw I took on a vampire; hell it'd all go down the drain if she remembered I fuckin kissed her!

Forget about my personal problems though, I'd take care of that later. I had bigger things to be thinking about. Like the fact that she knew the vampire that attacked her. When I finally found her in the forest she had called him Laurent. At that exact moment a red flag had went up in my head, if she knew this man she more then likely knew he was a vampire. So if she knew about vampires what else did she know? Did she have any idea that there was a pack of Wolves on the reservation, that a pride of werepanthers were living right outside of Forks? And if that were true how come I didn't see it sooner, there should've been signs popping out at me left and right. But there weren't any really, in fact she could've easily passed as a normal human to everybody around her, mortal or otherwise. That only meant one thing though, she either used to be with or knew someone that was supernatural.

A name suddenly came to mind, Edward. The vampire Laurent had also mentioned that her "mate" had left her to fend for herself, I growled at the thought of her belonging to someone else besides me. Could this Edward guy be a vampire as well? It would sure as hell explain a lot. Knocking at the front door snapped me from my train of thought, a quick sniff told me it was a fellow Shifter. I padded over to the door and opened it, only to reveal a very tall, very ripped Wolf. I could tell it was a Quileute pack member because of the shortly cropped black hair and copper skin tone. "Okay let me guess here…Jake." The boy smiled and crossed his arms. "You guessed correctly. Sam sent me to tell you the leech is taken care of, he won't be bothering Bells anymore." I nodded and invited him in. "Good, I only wish I could've killed the fucker myself. I let you assholes have all the fun while I got stuck playing doctor." He smirked as we sat on the couch together. "Oh you know you enjoyed it, did you do a full body examination, strip her down to make sure you didn't miss anything?" I punched him in the shoulder, a little harder then necessary I'll admit. "You fuckin perv! There was no need for it, she only suffered a cut on her hairline and got her brains raddled a bit. She's upstairs sleeping it off as we speak."

My mind wandered to out short lived make out session and my body tensed. "You okay Warren?" Jake asked, sensing my discomfort. "Fine, just need some air." I told him rising from the couch. "Mind taking my shift for a bit?" He shook his head and waved me off. "Got ya covered." I smiled at him and walked out to the front porch, sitting down on the top step and grabbing my bag from the railing. I fished around for my sketch book and opened it to a clean page. Drawing always helped clear my head, made me see things better. It also took away a lot of the stress and anger I kept inside. Instead of keeping it bottled up I could portray it in my artwork. I took a freshly sharpened pencil and got to work, sketching, erasing, and sketching again. I didn't have a clue at what I was drawing but that's how artists usually work. They draw whatever comes into their mind. Each line and curve, shade or sweep, I felt the imaginative weight I constantly felt I carried on my shoulders slowly start to lift. My problems faded away and all that could think about was each stroke I made with my pencil. It was easy to escape from reality when I was working on my art, everything around me didn't matter or didn't exist till I lifted my hand away from the canvas for the last time. Then the tremendous weight came back all at once, crippling me once again.

"How long have you been out here?" I turned my head to see Bella standing behind me. I was shocked at first then it melted away to relief. "I could be asking the same thing, how you feeling? Your head alright?" She sat herself beside me, a little closer then usual. "Yeah…" We fell into an awkward silence, she shifted nervously beside me. "We both have a lot of explaining to do." I found myself muttering. She didn't say a word, her body just tensed up even more. I wanted so badly to touch her and tell her to relax, but I was just as strained and confused as she was. "How much do you remember after you left school today?" Bella didn't look at me but she answered. "Pretty much everything, some of it's muddled from hitting my head, but right now I can recall a good majority of it." I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply.

Shit. This is what I was afraid of.

Another long moment of silence passed between us. My hands clenched tightly in my lap, my eyes stinging slightly. I couldn't, wouldn't believe this was happening. It just couldn't. it was too soon for her to know, damn it I had two more days!

But I couldn't just leave her questioning everything for another fucking forty eight hours, I had no choice. Right on cue Jacob walked out. I gestured over to my car and I lowed my voice to him. "Tell Sam I'm calling an emergency meeting. Everyone meet at First Beach, and I mean everyone. Drop by Gabe's if you can and tell him to meet us there. She needs to know." He looked uncomfortably over at Bella. "You sure? You can't delay her till this weekend?" Funny, I was just thinking that a few minutes ago. "We don't have a choice here Jake. She's seen too much. We have to tell her." I risked taking a glance at her myself, then corrected my statement. A tight knot started forming in the pit of my stomach. "I have to confront her."

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as always, reviews are always welcome! oh and did i mention im writing a new fanfiction? it's a Leah/OC (and yes the OC is a girl XD), just go to my profile and click on the story named Daydreamer, if you love this story i bet you'll love this new one just as equally.


	12. No way Out

I do not own Twlight, that right belongs to Stephine Meyer. i only own my badass OC Warren.

i'm sooo sorry i haven't updated! between school, family, and other issues i haven't had time to finish writing. but here it is and i hope its satisfying enough, enjoy all!

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This had to be the worst day of my life. Bella hasn't spoken a single word to me the entire drive to the La Push reservation. It scared me shitless, I was starting to think that I just lost everything I worked so hard to achieve over the past few months. I bet she didn't look at me the same way now, didn't trust me the way she did before. She knew I wasn't who I made myself out to be.

I could only imagine what was going through her head now.

It tore me apart inside she had to find out that everything I told her was a huge fucking lie. I didn't care about what she kept from me, she had every right to keep secrets, but I had no excuse. If I just told her from day one what I was none of this would be happening. But I had to crap out and defer every chance I had and wait till the last moment to explain myself. And look where that got me. I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to speak to me after this; hell I wouldn't like to talk to me either right now. I tried very hard not to look at her till I stopped the car. I feared if I even glanced in her direction it'd make her even more stressed then I already knew she was.

Since she was my mate I could feel everything she felt; confused, shocked…and something else I couldn't quite read. Deep down I hoped it was betrayal because that's what I did.

I pulled my jeep over to the side of the road, we were just a few yards from the beach, but I needed to talk to her now. There was no way around it. I cut the engine and sat there a minute, my hands tightening on the steering wheel till my knuckles turned white. "Fuck." I gasped under my breath, squeezing my eyes shut to try and concentrate. I could feel her looking over at me with a longing gaze but I ignored it. Cautiously I reached over Bella and opened her door then quickly returning to my seat before speaking in a soft undertone. "Get out of the car Bella." She sat there a moment but nodded and quietly slipped out. Before I hopped out myself, I grabbed a small hand gun from my door pocket and slipped it into my hidden waist holster. No need to be going unarmed now, not after what happened today. I met her around the passenger side, making sure to stand at least a few feet from where she stood. If she felt the need to get away from me at any point in time I wanted to make sure she felt like she could. I looked at her, she was leaning into my car and had her arms wrapped around herself. She looked so small and vulnerable standing like that…

"Bella, could you do something for me? But it's your choice, you don't have to if you don't want to." Another strained moment passed before she nodded. "Okay. I just want you to hear me out here. After that it's up to you what you want to do next."

When she didn't object I continued. "I'm not who you think I am, in fact everything you know about me is twisted and fabricated to cover up something very big and extremely dangerous. Something that if you knew you'd never look at me the same way you did this morning. You've probably already had inklings that there was something off about me from the day we first met up until this afternoon in the forest. But what I'm about to tell you is going to effect your life in more ways then one. Again this is your choice, if you don't want to hear this I'll just drop you off back home and I'll leave you be."

She simply stood there, with an oddly serene composure about her. I took in a shaky breath then decided be blunt. Thinking if I just got it out it'd make it easier.

"I'm a werepanther Bella." I waited for her eyes to widen, to say I was insane and run away, but she just stared at me with those beautiful chocolate eyes like she completely understood.

"A werepanther. You know, like rawr and stuff." I curled my fingers slightly and tilted my wrist in a clawing motion. "Not human or anything, just this creature that can morph from woman to a big cat. Not that isn't strange or anything."

She inhaled deeply before shrugging her shoulders at me. "Okay."

I stared blankly at her, refusing to believe she just said that to me. How could she be okay with this, with me being who I was?

"Okay? That's all you have to say, your okay with your best friend being a shape shifting freak?" I took a few strides closer to her, she tensed up at my fast approach. "Did you knock your brain off its stem when you fell, because usually when humans hear this they freak out. They don't just shrug it off and say okay." Bella looked away from me and instead studied her shoes with the utmost concentration. "Well I'm not your typical human…and your not a freak." She mumbled. I refrained from rolling my eyes at her. "Well the first part I already knew Bella. In fact I've known that for awhile now, but the second part is debatable." Her eyes suddenly snapped to mine with a look of pure shock. "What do you mean you already knew?" I sighed deeply and thought carefully about my next words. Then I shrugged inwardly, again choosing to be blunt. "You know vampires exist, not something your average human would know. For how long I don't know but for the last month or so that simple fact has gotten you in some serious shit." I saw her flinch at the statement, I shook away the feeling to stop talking and kept going. "You also knew the vampire that attacked you, that's what kinda tipped me off. Laurent you called him. I'm not sure how you befriended a rouge vampire but you can explain that later if you want. You must have questions for me now obviously."

For the longest time she said nothing, and I felt myself getting more antsy by the second. "Did you not trust me, is that why you didn't tell me all this before?" She asked suddenly. For a few seconds I was too appalled to answer. I wasn't expecting that at all, I was thinking more along the lines of "how did you know all that?" or "have you been watching me?" type deal. "Trust had nothing do with it. I merely thought you'd hate or fear me so I waited until I thought the moment was right, though I got cheated out of that deal thanks to that shithead leech." I added in a grumble. "I trust you with my life Bells. If anything it was me being paranoid that kept me from telling you."

I could feel the strain still hanging between us, mainly on my end. I wasn't expecting her to act like this and it was starting to freak me out to no end. Her cheeks suddenly flared up, signaling I embarrassed her in some way. "What? It's true." That only made her blush even more. Surprisingly I found this really attractive. Then again I thought everything she did was attractive.

"What caused your paranoia?" For some reason I knew that was coming. "Lot's of things." I answered, surprisingly with ease. "I've been attacked and betrayed for many years Bells. When I actually thought I had people to trust I found out otherwise, my entire life has always been a vicious cycle of being built up at my worst and torn down at my best. I'm basically used to everyone leaving me and roaming alone. But you were different, I actually wanted you around in my life. I wanted you to stay." Her face scrunched up, her eyes questioning. "What makes me so different from everyone else?"

I had to smile at that. She really didn't know how different she actually was, not counting the fact she mingled with non humans. "To sum it up, you cared. Not one person has treated me the way you have and meant it…it was real with you and I personally thought I'd never experience it. Ever." I shook my head suddenly. "Not to sound corny or anything, but you remind me of the innocence I've lost. I've had a lot happen in my life and being around you makes getting up in the morning a little easier. Breathing just a bit better. I thought if I told you I was this rage filled monster you'd never want anything to do with me. And the last thing I ever want to happen was to loose you Bella." She slowly pushed herself away from my jeep and took the last few strides left between us. "Don't you dare put yourself down like that. Your not a monster. Your not a freak, your not anything like that."

A pulse of sudden agitation flared up inside me. "Then what am I? Because I don't know and apparently you do." I snapped at her, but quickly regretted it. She only flinched momentarily but her confident stare never wavered, only softened as she answered. "You're the most helpful, kind hearted, forthright, creative, courageous, and strong willed person I've ever met. It doesn't matter what happens your ready to stand up and fight because you know you can. When your down you bounce right back, you don't dwell on the bad, you focus on the good. Or at least you try to anyway." We both shared a good laugh at that.

So I guess this was what she thought of me, what she saw. It was interesting because no one I've ever known has ever described me like that. "Your unlike anyone on this planet. I don't know…your just you. It doesn't matter if you're a werepanther or not, you'll always be Warren Walker to me."

I was practically aching this time to kiss her again, just for being this fucking amazing. In fact we were so close now that I could do just that. If I just tilted my head a little to the left and leaned in… "If it's even possible, I have no smart ass comment to respond to that. But I guess a thank you suffices." I said, brushing my hand against hers. She smiled, then faded slowly into unease. "Um…do you remember when you asked how much I remembered of this afternoon?" I nodded. "Yeah. You said you remembered everything, why?" She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Because by everything I meant everything…including when you brought me up to my room…where you kissed me." She said slowly, blushing deeply again. I stifled a gasp and took a step back, looking away from her. Fuck, she did remember. I knew she would, I knew she fucking would. "Bella…I…shit, I didn't mean…it wasn't what you think." Was all I could get out, and immediately I wanted so badly to slap myself for sounding like a guy who just got caught cheating on his girlfriend. But that pretty much was the situation, she caught me cheating on our friendship.

"I'm not mad at you Warren…just confused." Bella said gently, reaching to clasp my hands in hers. "I want to know why. You could've stopped me but you didn't. And don't give me any bull because you said you'd tell me everything I wanted to know." I was about to say that wasn't a question it was a statement, but she was right. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." I said simply, pulling my hands unwillingly from hers.

"Try me." She challenged back.

I started pacing back and forth in front of her, damn it how did I explain this? It wasn't easy telling a heterosexual women that a gay panther was her destined soul mate. I mean if it were that easy I would've told her ages ago. Lucky for me though rustling in the bushes behind me interrupted my train of thought.

A black feline the size of a horse emerged from the woods, looking from me to Bella then back again. "Ah, Kyle, what a pleasant surprise." I gave him a smile that signaled I owed him big time, his eyes sparkled in understanding. Bella's eyes widened as she looked at Kyle, her mouth slightly agape in surprise. "Bella this is my friend Kyle. Kyle this is Bella. She'll be joining us at the meeting." The panther-Kyle circled her, sniffing her occasionally, before nudging her hand with his muzzle and purring softly. "So…this is a werepanther." I nodded. "In the flesh. That's one hundred and eighty five pounds of pure, lean, powerful muscle you have under your hand there. But that's just the male, females tend to be lighter in build but that's because we have to keep our stamina up, after all its us who do most of the hunting and fighting, isn't that right Kyle?"

Knowing better then to disagree with me he nodded his colossal head in agreement. Bella laughed and it seemed to lighten the mood a little more. "Can you shift Warren?" She asked suddenly. Kyle stiffened under her hand and kept eye contact with me; he was waiting to see how I'd react. From his experience when somebody asked me that one of two things happened: I'd either go deathly silent or snap at the guy for even asking the question in the first place. I guess he didn't know how different I acted around Bella. "Yeah, I shift. But I choose to be in human form because it's more comfortable form me."

_And if I ever shifted I'd end up killing anyone who came across my path. _

That thought though I decided to leave out until further notice. She knew too much about me as it is. "But back to the subject at hand, Kyle here is going to escort us to First Beach. We have a meeting to attend."

It took a little convincing to get Bella to go with Kyle, I had to promise to stick right beside her as we traveled at a decent speed to First beach. Kyle wanted to go faster, but I told him if he even sped up an inch I'd skin his fur and use it as a throw.

_If you do I hope you fuck Bella on it, that way I can boast in the afterlife how my fur was used to keep two hot lesbians warm after their fiery lovemaking._ If we were alone I'd kick his ass for that, but he had my mate on his back so I decided to store this moment away for another time.

We ended up being a few minutes behind but hey at least we made it. I helped Bella off Kyle and walked us over to a nearby bon fire, were my brother and a few other Pride members stood with the Wolf pack that resided here. "Alright everyone's here, lets get things rolling." Gabe said, rubbing his hands together vigorously. I noted he wore the Alpha attire, hard leather breast plate with the gauntlets that had been past down from one Walker to the next ever since Shifters came to be on this planet of ours. Call it our version of a crown, since our bloodline has been one of leaders for over a millennium. Though instead of the usual head piece donned by most other Alphas we decided to show our authority in a different fashion. Those bronze bracers on my brother's arms represented a warrior's strength, intrepid mindset, and endless loyalty to his or her Pride. It was the best way to show your rank in my opinion. I could also see he had the broad sword I fashioned for him a few years back, it was nice to see he still held on to it.

We all sat around the fire and waited for the two main men to start the meeting. "First order of business," Gabe started, staring across at the other Wolf Alpha before him. I think his name was Sam.

"We have to set up precautions." Gabe started. "I already have my best Runners and Hunters out on patrol around the clock, as do you. No one has gotten though so far and for that we've been extremely fortunate. But we don't have any idea who we're dealing with, and that could turn out to be hazardous for everyone. That's were you come in unfortunately Bella." He added towards her. Instantly her hand found mine and I gripped it reassuringly. "Its okay Bells, I'm right here." I whispered in her ear. She relaxed and sighed deeply. "Her name is Victoria…" Her voice sounding dry and forced. I squeezed her hand again, urging her to continue. "Only tell them what they need to know, they're just looking for what we're dealing with, how many, and how dangerous." I told her softly.

She breathed again, starting over from the beginning. "Her name is Victoria. She was a part of a nomad trio of vampires that came into Forks last year. Her mate James was killed by my ex boyfriend, Edward Cullen, when he tried to hunt me down and feed from me. They disbanded after that but I guess Victoria has been plotting her revenge the entire time. She's only been holding back because Edward was around to protect me, but now that we broke up and he left she found it the perfect opening to track my movements." Her hand started trembling in mine, I could feel wave after wave of sorrow and anguish roll off her and crash into me. I was torn apart at the fact she was being forced to open up all these old wounds and watch them bleed profusely in front of me, but proud at the same time for her seeing that she was the only chance we had at defeating this bitch. Even after all this shit happened today. Between getting attacked by a vampire and getting a minor head injury, mixed with our own personal problems she could still find the strength to help us. She was definitely living proof that a human could be stronger then any shape shifter.

"According to Laurent," She continued. "The vampire that attacked me in the forest, Victoria had me followed for months. I don't know who it was that did the tracking-"

"Newborns." I cut in, my voice a surprised whisper. "She was having newborn vampires follow you, she probably created them herself." I looked over at her, suddenly full of fear. "Bella we're dealing with a narcissistic rouge. She only wants to kill you not to avenge her dead mate, but to kill the person who stole her only admirer. It would explain everything." One of the Wolf pack members started at me, annoyance clear in his dark eyes. "Why are we sitting her labeling this bloodsucker when we could be out there killing her? She doesn't need any special attention, she's a leech they're all the same." He asked, his voice mocking and had just a hint of asshole in it. I started right back at him, I didn't take being questioned too well and he was gonna learn right quick not to do it again. "Let me remind you _pup_," I said icily. "That I've lived a hell of a lot longer then you and seen more then you have in your entire life. I was Alpha female to the largest feline Pride in the United states and before that I was in charge of all battle tactics in my Pride. So you could say I know how to deal with situations such as these. You on the other hand are only a second in command to your Alpha and have only been a Shifter for, what, not even a year yet? So I suggest you keep your fucking trap shut unless you know what your talking about. Any more questions?" He didn't answer, but looked extremely livid I bitched him out. "Good."

I turned back to the others. "As I was saying, if we don't deal with Victoria fast we're gonna have a huge problem on our hands. But we also have to plan accordingly, not just about figuring out a way to track her down and kill her, we also have to find a way to neutralize her hoard without raising any human alarms. Or in this case not set off anymore."

Gabe looked at me then over to Sam. "What do you think?" For a moment he didn't respond, which I'll admit made me nervous.

Please tell me I just didn't blow our alliance by chewing off his pack mate's head.

"I think she has a point," He finally said after a tense moment. "We have to deal with this quickly but efficiently." As soon as those words left his mouth though the boy who mouthed off to me before suddenly became very ridged. I had a feeling something bad was gonna go down; hopefully I was wrong. Gabe leaned back, looking quite content with what was said. "Well then I guess all we have to do now is talk strategy then we're done for today."

Since that was a job for Alphas only the rest of us were free to leave and roam the beach, which is exactly what Bella and I did. For awhile we just walked, her with her head hanging and me with my hands laced behind my head. Not a word was spoken for a long while but yet there was so much to be said between us.

"That was quick, I thought the meeting would last much longer." Bella commented.

"Yeah." I sighed, letting my hands fall to my sides with a lazy thump. "But I guess Gabe didn't want it to, he's more intent on getting things rolling then sitting around flapping his gums. He was never a patient one when we were growing up now that I think about it." She laughed then grabbed my hand and sat us down on the sand. "You never talk about your childhood, why is that?"

Again with the twenty questions for the secretive Shifter. But it was expected I guess, I opened the door for her now I gotta invite her in.

"Let's just say I didn't have the best life growing up. My father was always gone, mom was an alcoholic backstabber, and Gabe had to step up and bring home the money. That left me to pretty much raise myself for awhile. Sure, I got a life lesson here and there from my family but we were extremely broken. By the time my father decided it was a good idea for Shifters from the Pride to check up on me in his place, I was already damaged from the beatings I endured from my mother." I saw Bella's eyes widen in shock, her mouth slightly agape. "She beat you?" I managed to get my mouth to form a small grimace, which was supposed to be a smile. But nothing I said was worth smiling about. "Every chance she got unfortunately, whether it was physical, verbal, or mental. I was her personal punching bag for years until I was old enough to fight back. But like I said, by the time the guards came in to keep me safe it was too late."

"Don't feel bad for me Bells." I told her, seeing the sympathy growing in her eyes along with some tears. "What's done is done and I can't say it was an extreamly horrible experience, what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger right?"

She tried to smile in agreement but I knew the information I just told her had a huge effect on her part. It was only a small piece of my past mind you, but it was a good start. "Hey you said no holding back." I reminded her.

"Yeah….I did. I just didn't expect you to be so…"

"Forthcoming? I thought by know you knew I'm not your average girl here Bella." I chuckled when she blushed furiously. Damn I couldn't get over how fucking cute that was to me. "I guess your not." She whispered. For a split second her hand brushed against my fingers and I felt sparks so intense that I wanted to snatch my hand back in shock. By the choked gasp that emitted from her she must have felt it too. A searing heat shot down deep into my gut and sent my mind reeling into a primal frenzy, all my body wanted to do was jump her and pleasure her till she screamed. But my mind fought to keep control even though a small part of it argued. After all what was better then a steamy one on one on a beach with a beautiful sunset over the horizon? _Nothing, except that she might reject you when you make a move to do it. _Damn myself for shooting my ideas down.

"Warren, are you okay?" I looked up to see concern in every feature of her gorgeous heart-shaped face. My breathing had turned into shallow panting, that's probably what was making her worry. If only she knew this wasn't a sign of illness. "I'm fine." My voice sounded breathy, which only made her concerned look grow. "Are you sure?" She leaned forward and placed the back of her hand on my forehead. Another shot of heat hit my core and I groaned miserably, resting my head on her shoulder. "I should go get your brother." She started to rise but I grabbed her hips and planted her ass back into the sand. "No. Just…just let me chill a bit…I haven't slept good in a couple of days, I've been working nonstop." I formulated quickly, mixing together a small lie with the truth. All I needed was two hours of shut eye and I was fueled up and ready to go really, but I couldn't let her find out about my imprinting, not yet.

I pressed my face into her neck as the ache in between my legs increased. Bella rubbed my back soothingly, trying to ease my pain but unbeknownst to her it only made it worse. I didn't let it show though. In my position I could smell her floral sent, and I could just pick up a trace amount of arousal. I picked my head up and stared at her, trying to see in her eyes what caused it.

Her cheeks were lightly flushed, but not from embarrassment. My fingers came up to brush her jaw line. Her eyes fluttered as they continued to trace the contour of her face then back down to her neck. "Bella…about before, back in your room…the kiss…" I started to say under my breath, then swallowed and pulled my hand away from her. "I wanted to apologize. That was no way for me to act, especially in the condition you were in."

Bella caught my hand halfway and held it firmly between hers. "Don't apologize Warren." She stated. "There's no need to." I could feel my eyebrows pinch together, my hand trembled slightly in her gasp. "Yeah, there is. I-I shouldn't have don't that to you. It was wrong and I-" A finger pressing lightly into my lips stopped me cold as her eyes bored into mine. "Warren stop it. I don't want you to say your sorry, you shouldn't feel bad about the kiss…" She licked her lips nervously and looked away. My heart raced in my chest as the silence between us lengthened. What on earth was going on inside her head right now?

Her eyes found mine once more and she tried again. "You shouldn't feel bad about kissing me because…I wanted you to." For a minute or two I was way too stunned to respond, and I think I forgot to breathe because by the time my mind wrapped around her words I was gasping for breath. Bella cast her eyes down and away from my gaze, then got up and started walking away.

Shit, I took to long to answer!

"Bella wait!" I shot up and loped after her, but she picked up her pace to try and loose me. Too bad she forgot about my werepanther speed.

Within seconds I was standing in front of her and she stumbled back in momentary surprise. "Bella, come on listen to me." Without looking at me directly she turned on her heel and stormed off in the opposite direction. With a irritated growl I hooked my arm around her waist and pulled her flush to my chest. "Fuck Bella, will you stop!" She struggled for a few seconds then relaxed, realizing that fighting against me was useless. "Let me go Warren." She whispered, her voice stressed and slightly broken. It hurt painfully to know that I caused her to sound like that. "No." I pressed my lips against the nape of her neck, feeling her body shudder against me. "Not until you agree to turn around and listen to what I have to say. No more running." She nodded curtly and I released her.

Before she could do anything I swung her around to face me, only to see fresh tear tracks staining her cheeks. "Oh Bells…"

On instinct my hands came up to wipe away the tears that still traveled down her face. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, I was just shocked." I told her softly. My thumbs grazed her skin comfortingly, trying to stop the tears that were still building up in her eyes. "I just didn't expect you to say that. I'm not used to women accepting me for who I am, so it came as a surprise when you told me you actually wanted me to kiss you."

She nodded, sniffling lightly but the tears to my relief stopped coming. "I feel foolish now because I should've known that." I laughed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "The things that should seem obvious don't always appear when they should."

No words were exchanged between us after that. We just stood there, the sounds of the ocean rolling onto the sand the only thing keeping this moment from falling into a complete silence. It was soothing in a way. Bella looked up at me, like she expected something to happen but wasn't quite sure as to what. I didn't exactly share her thought. I wanted to do something, I just wasn't sure what was acceptable to the situation.

_Well, when in doubt go with instinct._

I leaned forward and slipped my hands around her waist, pulling her close untill her body pressed against mine. She fit perfectly, like our bodies were made for each other. Her arms came up to clasp around my neck as she pulled herself up to better look into my eyes. They met and I saw tons of emotions swimming around in them. Nervousness, uncertainty, and need…just to name a few that I recognized. My arms wrapped more fully around her figure, trying to give her a sense of protection to ease her stress. She cast her eyes down again, and this time I knew she was second guessing the situation. She wasn't sure what was happening between us was right. I couldn't let her think that. I wanted her to know that as long as she was with me she didn't have to second guess us or fear that I wouldn't stick around, she had to know that wasn't going to happen with me. Ever. I was here to stay, and I'd get her to believe that even if it took me the rest of my life to do so.

I unwrapped one of my arms and reached up to gently cup her chin, gently urging her to look up at me. Once she made eye contact I dipped my head down and ever so softly caught her lips in the most tender kiss I was capable of. I didn't push her to respond back but I feared she'd do one of those dead fish things on me, suddenly go limp and let me do whatever until I gave up. But she surprised me by tentatively moving her mouth along with mine. Her fingers weaved themselves into my hair as I pulled her up off her feet to deepen our kiss. Her legs wrapped around my thighs as I applied more pressure against her soft lips, my tongue slowly dragging along her bottom lip as it waited for permission to enter. She immediately granted it and our tongues danced, neither wanting to dominate the other but were just as eager to set fire to our already burning inferno. It was like Bella was my ever growing addiction. Now that I've had her once, in this case twice, I was never going to be able to stop. A soft moan elicited from her when my hands slipped under her shirt and caused this amazing shiver of excitement to run down my spine. It was thrilling, like going down a rollercoaster for the first time. After an eternity of living in this bliss we had to part for air, both of us gasping but smiling at one another. Damn the human necessity for oxygen! Though with time I'm sure I could teach her to hold out longer, a sly smile crept on my lips at the thought. Then it faded when I thought about before, how she was delusional when I kissed her. What it possible that next time I went to do this she wouldn't let me?

"What's wrong Warren?" Bella touched my face and brought me back down from my thoughts. I sighed, readjusting her so I could hold her weight more properly. Though she weighed very little. "I was just thinking if you'd ever let me kiss you like that again." A wide grin split her angelic features. "You can kiss me whenever you want, I've never felt this way." She added softly. I couldn't say that didn't boost my pride.

I nuzzled my nose against her neck, earning myself a giggle while doing so. "Bella…I want to tell you so many things…but I'm not quite sure how to say them." Gently placing her on her feet, I rubbed the back of my head as my brain racked to form sentences that actually made sense. "I _can_ tell you in all honesty though that in all my life I've never have been this happy and…I don't know I guess I was just afraid if I told you all of this you wouldn't accept me like this." Her eyebrow quirked. "Accept you like what?" I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked out over the ocean. "Like this Bella." My left hand latched around my right arm and my claws bit into the soft skin there. "This. damaged, emotionally wreaked, unpredictable. I'm a volatile beast who can kill if I don't keep my emotions in check, I hurt everyone I come in contact with or they hurt me so I don't. I haven't been in a real relationship in years…so I don't know how exactly to handle myself while I'm around you. Fuck I don't even know if we even have anything going between us." A hand reached into one of my pockets and pulled out one of mine. "Warren, we do have something." I tore my eyes away from the setting sun, only to see it's light reflected in her eyes. "I'll admit I don't know exactly what we have, but we have something. And I know its hard for you to open yourself up to me because I've been the same way. So I'm going to do what you've been doing to me, I'm going to be patient and wait until you can figure things out. But until then I'll be there for you like you were for me." I smiled and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, feeling them curve into a smile of their own. "You do realize you're the girlfriend of a werepanther now?" Her hands found my waist as she pulled me closer. "Yes, but I don't think a little pussy will bother me."

I laughed, pulling her down into the sand with me so she was on top and straddling my hips. "I never thought I'd hear you say that." She leaned forward so that our faces barely touched, her brown hair falling on either side of us like a curtain, hiding us away from the outside world and just leaving us. Personally that didn't sound too bad. "You should know by now that you're my worst influence." I grinned and nipped at her face, she squealed and fell off me. I took the opportunity to roll myself on top of her and pin her wrists on either side of her. "And you are mine." With that we fell into another one of our alternate universes, were it was just us and our ever growing passion. A place were I didn't feel any agony or questioning, just her velvety touch against my skin and her reassuring lips against my own. Where the only thing that was twisted was our arms and legs. I didn't have to fear about loosing my control because I didn't need to when I was with her, with one touch she soothed my inner beast and kept her calm and satisfied. But only part way. That other part was the desire to take her, but that would have to wait for another time; a time where it wouldn't feel like that scene in a movie were it was forced upon the couple because of the impending doom that awaited them. Besides a moment like that couldn't just happen on a whim, it had to be carefully planed out. When was up to her but how and where would be my part to deal with. But until then I was content with this, just to finally have her in my arms this way after weeks of yearning was enough for me. But again there was that miniscule part of me hidden deep inside that constantly reminded me of one thing, will Bella accept me once I finally let her in, or would she leave me just like Megan did?

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so? did i loose my touch already or was it good? only one way to tell me...press the pretty button bellow and review!


	13. The Studio Part 1

Twilight belongs to the wonderful author Stephine Meyers, i only own my lovely badass Warren Walker

i'm so sorry i haven't posted anything guys! i have not given up on this story, it just takes some time finishing chapters now that summer is approching. i'm glad you all have stuck with me and waited this long, i hope i don't dissapoint!

Enjoy my lovelys, i made sure so add zest to this one ;)

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Bella's P.O.V.

Its been awhile since I kissed Warren on First Beach.

And to say I was still getting drunk off of its effects would be a complete understatement. No words could explain how I felt for the past couple of days, and nothing would do justice to how I felt about what happened between us. The heartache I felt for the past couple of months, all the pain and suffering I endured, it all just seemed to disappear as soon as our lips touched. The gaping hole I had in my chest healed over completely. I've never felt anything like it, it was surreal yet it was actually happening. After Edward I never in a million years would've thought a person like Warren could do such wonderful things to someone as broken and lifeless as me.

But since that life changing moment I haven't seen any sight of her. After coming down from our highs her brother came over and asked her to aid in training the new fighters for the upcoming battle with Victoria. The wonderfully blissful haze I had over my eyes cleared the exact second the words were spoken. I saw for the first time how much danger I was in, and not just me but Warren and everyone else she managed to pull together to protect me. In that moment I realized just how bad the whole situation was. And I also saw how far Warren was going to make sure nothing happened to threaten my existence. Who knows, she could've been protecting me the in the whole time I've known her and I never would've realized it. It was possible I could have gone the rest of my life without ever knowing how much she was sacrificing for me.

After Warren explained how she would be gone the next few days- after promising endlessly when we saw each other next she would make up for lost time, which of course made me blush at some unmentioned but obvious thought she formed in her head- I noticed there was something about her that just seemed to show she really didn't want me to leave her line of sight, though she left her best friend Kyle to watch me in her place. It didn't lessen the worry I saw in her eyes though, not one bit. It was like now that I knew of her imprinting she seemed more possessive of me then usual and wasn't afraid of letting me see it. It was thrilling to say the least. But I'm sure if anyone saw the primal domination burning in their significant other's eyes they'd get excited too. I mean I've never been looked at like that by anyone, so when Warren did it felt like a shot of adrenaline was coursing hot and fast though my hungry veins, readying myself for whatever was to come after that scorching gaze.

And I mean anything.

While Kyle and I hung out I questioned him endlessly about Warren and Werepanthers. This was mainly to keep myself occupied but the Q&A also was to help me find out as much as I could about my girlfriend and the crowd she hung around. (Calling Warren my girlfriend was a tender spot for me for awhile, but after rolling the words over my tongue I quickly became comfortable with the term) Basically I was arming myself with as much info ammo as possible. I wanted to be prepared for absolutely anything. He told me what he could but I knew there were lines he wouldn't cross, even for his best friend's mate who had no idea werefelines even existed before she was attacked by a rouge vampire. He said there were just some things that only she could explain and go more in depth with. I respected that of course, so to make him less uncomfortable I tried hard not to pry him much about anything surrounding Warren before she came here and only stick with asking about her work with the Pride. I found out she was once the Alpha Female and was pretty well known across U.S. and pretty much everywhere else. Kyle also mentioned that once she was even sent over to the Middle East to settle a dispute between two Shifter clans who were on the brink of war. Besides being a hardcore warrior, she was also quite the mediator.

But when I asked why her brother took her place he became silent, almost anguished. It seemed to me like he knew the question was coming but also hopped it wouldn't.

"In a nutshell," He told me softly one evening, as we lounged in my living room watching some random collage football game. "Lets just say Warren had some very unfortunate things happen that ultimately lead to her leaving the Pride and handing the bracers over to her brother."

After that I chose to pick my questions a little more carefully after that and avoided the topic completely. I didn't have to be so careful though as time went on, Kyle was more then willing to tease me with little juicy tidbits about the sexuality of Werepanthers and how they effected humans. I think he enjoyed using my new found lesbianism as a torture device rather then in helping me understand it in my opinion. But nonetheless I did manage to find out that Warren was quite the expert in the art of pleasuring another female.

In fact she was quite famous for it next to her leadership skills, but that in no way tarnished her image. It strengthened it because only a very select few have managed to enter her most intimate circle. And those who were lucky enough to get that far told that the touch of her was like being caressed by the Divine. Warren Lee Walker had the power to send you on a journey beyond space and time, take you to worlds that you only thought existed in your dreams, and make you experience sensations that could only be described as the most erotic pleasures any one person or Shifter can imagine times infinity. One night with her wasn't just a frantic, lust fueled wrestling match or a one time carnal feast like with most, it was beyond anything a woman could possibly put into words. Only they never could forget it and no other could produce such an effect. It made me tremble the more I thought about it, to think that such a woman who held such power had imprinted on the likes of me was almost unfathomable. I was unworthy of such a voluptuous creature. But when she kissed me, when her hands explored my skin in that short time span in the sand, she made me feel I was more then worthy. That I did deserve to be loved and craved by possibly the most sensual female to walk the planet.

Kyle told me to watch the women when I went to the Pride grounds, take note of the reactions of them as we passed. I'd see that the words he told me were true. He even let slip one day that he remembered traveling from the training grounds with her a few years back and almost every female they walked passed either swooned or flushed at the sight of her. Even the most sexually daring of women cast their eyes down when they caught sight of her.

To hear that was kind of a mixed blessing, it made me even more excited already that I was hers but at the same time I still felt she should have imprinted on someone stronger, less fragile then me. I'd probably crumble if she tried to touch me in such a way. But like I said before Warren had the power to make my doubts disappear and replace it with these wonderful feelings of adoration and worship, like she thought of me as the Deity instead of the other way round.

I also felt like she was holding back on me in a way though. Not to say she was holding back physically, she made sure I knew who was in charge and let me feel everything she put out, but there was something under the surface she wasn't telling me about. I noticed it when we first started hanging out all those months ago, that shadow of reluctance that separated her from fully making a connection with me. It explained why even the slightest touch we made she'd jump as if I shocked her, Now that I thought about it when she touched me at the beach there was a hint of fear behind it, a slight twitch barely audible to me during that exact moment, but now that I thought back that tiny movement to me indicated that the slightest bit of intimacy caused her to remember a terrible memory of some sort. Something so horrible that it made her want to recoil from me but she cleverly concealed it under the primal energy between us in the hopes that I wouldn't notice. She was willing to fight tooth and nail through even the most tormenting recollection in order to show her true feelings towards me, but nothing could stop the memories that obviously haunted her with every kiss and touch we made. It reminded me of when we first met at the bar, she also had something agonizing to hide. A piece of her past that tore away at her very soul, demolishing everything that made her trust and love, turning her into the wounded, yet feral woman I knew her to be.

But what was it? What event scarred her so deeply it kept this thin but impenetrable barrier I still felt between us? That was the question that was gnawing at me. What, or who, caused Warren to close down her heart and suddenly make her feel she was fighting against the world?

I decided then that it was my job to figure that out, and somehow neutralize it when and if I did. She deserved to be just as happy as she was trying to me make me. I might not be a supernatural being, or possess some awesome power, but I could break though the walls she threw up around herself and fix what I knew was broken within. I at least had the ability to do that.

The trouble with that though was that I haven't seen Warren, and until I did thinking about all this meant nothing. As the saying goes actions speak louder then words, and that was what I decided when I woke up today. It was apparent that she wasn't coming to me, the days were now turning to weeks and I have yet to hear of a change in that fact, so I planned to convince Kyle to take me to her instead or just go off on my own. Of course I had to rush though school first, even though I've been through hell the pat couple of weeks I refused to let my dad figure out something was wrong by staying home. There was no way I'd allow him to get mixed up in this mess I found myself in. So in the morning I tried to act my best a if nothing was wrong, but of course he saw through it and asked what I was all worked up for. I quickly formulated a lie about Warren catching a bad stomach bug, and she needed me to bring her prescription from the pharmacy to her place. Thankfully he bought it. He even gave me a few cans of chicken soup to give her.

I rushed through the school day like my ass was on fire, barely paying any attention in any of my classes and ran for my truck once the final bell rang. I just had to get to Warren. The sudden need for her felt almost unreal, but then again Kyle did mention that the first few weeks of imprinting were brutal on the couple.

I could only imagine how Warren was holding up.

Before I could even put the key into the ignition a figure materialized by the passenger side door, claws drumming against the window. I jumped with a start only to see Kyle grinning cheekily at me. Speak of the Devil and he shall appear. Damn, I almost forgot he was on 24/7 guard duty. "Where ya heading Miss. Swan?" He asked, opening the door and slipping gracefully inside. "Um…I was kinda looking to…well I wanted to see if, maybe…I…" I fumbled with words as I simultaneously tried to put the key into the ignition. I grunted and finally got the darn thing to run with a loud roar.

"I want to go see Warren." I stated. "I don't care if I'm not supposed to, I need to see her. Its been weeks and…" Kyle hadn't spoken a single word of objection, so I cut off my rant and pulled out onto the street. He shook his head and buckled up. "Bella believe me, I understand. You and Warren only had that one roll around back at the meeting to finally show your feelings for each other. In my opinion it was rude of Gabe to whisk her away from you like that. Warren already hates the fact that she waited this long just to kiss you, now she has to wait even longer to show you what months of pent up passion and animalistic desires feels like." He chuckled as a light blush crept into my cheeks and my truck swerved slightly out of lane.

"W-w-what exactly did Gabe want Warren to do?" I blurted out, trying to keep my mind in check. "I mean, I know she had to train new recruits and stuff, but why couldn't he have you do it or something?" He grinned. "Well here's the thing Bella. Warren is possibly one of the best Shifter Soldiers of her time, so if anyone is going to be training anybody to fight a army of Newborns, its her. And besides that she has more Military training under her belt then her brother has gotten in the eight years he was in the Navy."

"Military? You mean Warren was a soldier?"

Kyle suddenly looked as if he said something he shouldn't. But the look was gone faster then it appeared so I couldn't be sure. "For a short time, yes. She trained with her father but refused to be drafted. She was supposed to be a…well lets just say for now she was supposed to be apart of a select group and be sent over seas to await further instructions but found her emotions weren't intact enough to take the heat of battle. She feared her inner beast would force her into blackout rages and she didn't want to risk killing any innocents. So she managed to get discharged due to mental illness and stayed behind. Never looked back either. Though personally I think she misses the thrill of being a soldier," A smirk suddenly crept onto his face, I mentally prepared myself for the assault I knew was to come. "But now I think she has other thrills she'd rather tend to."

We drove the rest of the way to Warren's apartment in silence, and a sense of wholeness seeped into me as it came into view. It was almost like a second home that I knew would always welcome me no matter when I decided to drop by. I pulled up next to the building and cut the ignition. Just as I exited my truck though Kyle cut me off. Automatically I went to object.

"Whoa little lady! Chillax, I was just gonna tell ya that Warren usually heads to her studio after training. It helps get the extra energy out." He gestured across the street to an abandoned building. "You might want to check there first. If you need me I'll be in the store just down the road." I nodded in thanks and ran across the street to the building, and saw that it was just as empty on the inside as it looked on the outside. A sense of disappointment started to build in my chest, and I was about to turn and leave when I heard the distant sound of metal music reach my ears from above me. I looked up to see a ladder reaching into a cut out hole in the ceiling. Allowing my instincts to be my guide I climbed up the ladder and into a well lit area full of everything from paint cans and brushes to canvases and clay wheels. The music was more prominent and I could now make out the lyrics, which I found surprisingly dark but almost alluring.

_Must be something they're hiding_

_Must be reasons that no one will dare to tell_

_Must be something inside me_

_But I don't think so anymore_

_It's hurting again now_

_And I don't need friends when I have foes like you_

_It's hurting again now_

_It's killing me to be here all alone…_

I looked around the spacious room, knowing that someone was here, and hopefully that someone was Warren. Deep inside I knew she had to be here otherwise I wouldn't have came up.

_Go away_

_It's all the same_

_There's more for me_

_As the world falls away _

_and I can't find a reason_

_As the world turns to gray_

_It's killing me, unwillingly _

_and I am just the same as you…_

Something caught the corner of my eye, a figure hanging from the ceiling. I walked closer and saw it was, in fact Warren. She was hanging from a bar bolted to the ceiling and effortlessly raised her body so her chin rested just above the bar. I guess Kyle was right, she was working off the extra energy from her training sessions with the Pride.

I watched as she lowered herself, her exposed back glistening with sweat in the afternoon sunlight. My body tingled at the sight of her barely dressed, every muscle in her body moving under sun kissed skin, her breath even despite the time I could only imagine she spent up here. No wonder she was chosen to teach new recruits, she could just keep going and going and never stop. She was never depleted of energy or slowed down the slightest bit. It made me think suddenly that with so much stamina she probably had high endurance for other things as well…

_Must be something confided_

_Must be someway to feel the pain and heal again_

_Pain and pleasure, inviting_

_I don't think so anymore_

_It's hurting again now_

_And I don't need pills when I have drugs like you_

_It's hurting again now_

_It's killing me to be here all alone_

_Go away, it's all the same_

_There's more for me_

_As the world falls away and I can't find a reason_

_As the world turns to gray_

_It's killing me, unwillingly and I am just afraid_

_As the world falls away and I can't find a reason_

_As the world turns to gray~_

The music suddenly stopped playing and I was pulled from my revere as Warren jumped from the bar and landed on the ground in a half crouched stance, there was a remote in her hand. That's probably what cut the song off. She raised herself from her crouch and turned to grab a towel from a nearby rack. She wiped the sweat from her face and when she spotted me she froze, her face scrunching together in momentary confusion before she spoke.

"Bells?"

I smiled nervously, after all I wasn't supposed to be here. I was supposed to keep my distance from the Pride and lay as low as possible. But the nervousness was gone in a flash as Warren slammed me up against the nearest wall and burned my lips with possibly the hottest passion I've ever felt.

Her hands roamed my body and I distinctly felt claws dig though the fabric of my top. Chills went up my spine as she took over, like the absence of me being near her starved her of something so vital that now when she had me in her clutches it needed to be satisfied. Her tongue easily gained entrance into my mouth and quickly gained dominance over my own. I had no chance of overpowering her, I was completely at her mercy and it felt absolutely amazing. To be as vulnerable as I was, and be completely overwhelmed by Warren was as addicting as the adrenaline that pumped though my body when she took me out on her bike. Though this couldn't possibly be compared to anything. I wanted nothing more then to let her have me any way she wanted as long as she kept doing what she was doing. It made me feel alive, like I actually had purpose when Warren touched me. And the effect was even more powerful when it was fueled by pure carnal desire. She craved to have me submit to her, just as I craved for her control. I loved the feeling of being something that someone else longed for. It made me all the more willing to let my guard down.

Warren grabbed my legs and put them around her waist, pulled us free of the wall and cleared a bench with one sweep of her arm before laying me down on it. I heard the sounds of empty containers, paintbrushes, and the wet sound of paint hitting the floor as she continued crawled on top of me and her heated assault on my body. Her fingers moved down to hook themselves in the loops of my jeans and ground our hips together. I gasped at the contact, a new feeling that I wasn't familiar with. It was sexual and raw, primal and erotic. It made my heart race and a unbearable heat build in between my thighs.

Fear gripped me suddenly. I've never experienced anything like this before, I was never really intimate with Edward when we dated. He always kept himself in check and there were lines, always lines he wouldn't dare cross and lines I so desperately wanted to cross to experience the things I've always dreamed about. Warren was all but unwilling to allow me to feel such intense emotions such as the ones I was experiencing right now. She awakened parts of me I never new existed, parts that screamed for her, but yet at the same time I knew nothing about being sexually active. I was too naïve. I couldn't even keep one flame ignited, what made me thing I had the power to keep Warren from getting bored of me and leaving for someone more experienced?

"Bella, oh my God…I missed you so much…" She mumbled against my neck. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to come get you….but Gabe said the less interaction you had with the Pride the safer you'd be…fuckin stupid. You should be here with me, always with me…" She kissed my throat tenderly and slipped her hands under my shirt. "At night I'd think about you, and I'd wonder if you were as lonely as I was. I scared myself sometimes because I feared that being away from you for so long…I thought you'd second guess your feelings for me. That you'd break things off before I got the chance…"

Emerald eyes caught mine, still burning with need but they also held a sort of desperation. Did she sense my fear and take it as an uncertainty to accept my feelings for her? "W-Warren…" I took a deep breath before reaching out to touch her face. "I missed you too. Just as much as you missed me. Ask Kyle, all I did was force him to talk about you the whole time he was with me." She smiled and leaned into my touch, her eyes falling closed as if the simple touch soothed her. "Don't for two seconds even formulate the thought that I'd ever leave you. I could never do it, I need you here, with me, every second of every day. So get that voice out of your head that makes you think I'm going to just get up and walk away from you. Because I'm not." She smirked, kissing me softly before resting her hands on my thighs. "Consider it gone."

She gave me one last kiss before she helped me off the counter. We both made our way down the ladder and back to her apartment hand in hand. For a fleeting moment I missed the intensity of the make out session we had back at her studio, but like I said it was fleeting. Once we entered her apartment she pulled me in for another breathtaking kiss before leading me the rest of the way into her room. Sitting me on the bed, she went and grabbed herself a fresh change of clothes. "I'm just gonna catch a quick shower babe, I kinda feel bad I was just all over you dripping in sweat. But I couldn't control myself." She winked and went off to the bathroom. The smell of her sweat heightened my arousal rather then disgusted me actually, but I kept that little fact to myself. The familiar sound of the shower starting made me realize that soon she'd be undressing, which caused my face to flare up as an image of Warren standing naked and surrounded by steam appeared in my mind. Wow, what a sight that would be…

"If you get too lonely out there Bells your more then welcome to join me!"

The invitation was tantalizing, but was she being serious? The sudden impulse to tear off my clothes and jump in after her made me bite my lip to keep from gasping out loud. This was such unfamiliar territory I was treading, how do I react? Do I go in or do I stay in her bed? Would I upset her if I didn't take up her offer?

I decided to just settle myself in the middle of her mattress and wait for her to finish. She was just pushing my buttons, nothing more…right? As the minutes dragged on my eyes started to droop, so I thought a quick shut eye wouldn't hurt any body. I'd be awake before she got out anyways.


	14. AN: Please Read!

Sorry, this wouldn't fit on the end of my last chapter for some stupid reason, but yeah it was supposed to say something like this:

Sorry about the cliffhanger but I promise you will thank me later. In fact to any who are interested they can help me compose the next chapter! Anything goes, so don't be shy. I'm up for anything you guys can throw at me! If your not willing to let others see what you got you are more then welcome to PM me, I'd love to hear from ya!

Id also like to give some shout outs to some very enthusiastic readers:

LynetteCullen, for being one of my original readers and leaving me great reviews

miluvrox, For sharing my views on having more Bella/OC femslash

Eclipz, for reminding me I actually do have a talent even if I don't receive 100 + reviews for my stories

but of course you all are my muses so keep the creative energies coming my way! I love you all for keeping me writing and I will make up for lost time, you just gotta be patient. As they say good things come to those who wait!


	15. Phantom Memories

Sorry it took so long to update guys! There has been so much going on that I've had no time to work on my fanfic, but I'm glad to say I'll be able to hopefully get two or three new chapters up before I go missing again, so keep the good reviews coming my way! I want to thank Nenarae for posting such an uplifting review, and it is this chapter that i dedicate in your honor! but i also wish to thank all my lovely readers who have stuck with me this far, and you will be awarded accordingly ;) without further iteruption, here is the long antisipated chapter 15!

Warren's P.O.V.

Amazing how no matter how much I washed myself I never feel clean.

I must have spent at least a good twenty minutes scrubbing my skin raw trying to get the smell of blood and sweat off of me. But it seemed no matter how hard I scrubbed the smell lingered, and I still felt dirty. However the water ran clear and cold and my fingers turned all pruny so I got out.

I dried myself off and reached for a pair of jeans I always kept in the bathroom, just in case I needed them. As I pulled a shirt over my head I happened to glance at myself in the mirror and frowned at what I saw. The woman staring back looked feral, unstable despite her calm stature. Her emerald eyes were as dark as the soul they hid, and the scars only proved she was nothing more then a monster.

She was strong in body; long, lean, and strong, a body of a phenomenal female warrior with great skill. But in mind I couldn't be certain. There was so much broken about her that I wasn't sure if she could ever be the person she was before. There wasn't even a ghost of the Shifter she used to be, the strong and self confident woman she was so many years ago. The legendary Pantheress who ruled like no leader before her, and who loved like no one else could. What had happened that scarred this creature so badly?

Too much. Too much to remember.

I couldn't recall a time where this broken beast wasn't hurting or fighting for her life. And nothing would change that.

My hands trembled, and my claws unsheathed as anger welled hot and painful in my chest. I always hated looking at myself in the mirror just for this reason, I never saw myself. I wasn't Warren Lee Walker anymore, haven't been for awhile. I was someone else entirely. Everyone said I just needed some time, but my pain only seemed to get worse as the sun rose and fell each day.

What's more, it always seemed to be coming from several different sources; some of them I could identify, like my mother and Megan. But there were others that I just couldn't place, though they hurt just as badly...if not more. It was like no matter what I was always suffering and I didn't understand why.

Imprinting on Bella should've made the hurt go away. That I knew for certain. I was in love with someone who loved me back. Bella took me as I was; shouldn't that be enough to ease my suffering? It was the one thing I yearned for but never thought I could have, now that I actually have it why do I still feel this way? Your mate is supposed to be your world, the one thing that mattered above all else. And Bella did matter to me; I'd die for this woman before anything harmed her. I'd be the one to hold her when she cried, scream at when she got angry. The one she loved when she needed loving.

But why was I still hurting then? Megan wasn't a factor anymore, and neither was my fucked up mother. My brother's fine, my father is alive, I had my pride again, and my mate was with me. What else could possibly still be wrong with my life now? Well, besides the vampire horde and their crazy vamp mistress out for Bella's head. I didn't see anything amiss, but I still couldn't see myself as anything different then I had before Bella walked into my life. I didn't understand it, and it angered me beyond all reason.

I had to walk out of the bathroom in order to keep from shatter my own reflection and everything else around me. I snarled as I walked down the hallway, pissed at my own emotions, and confused at not knowing what caused it. But there was this pull that unconsciously lead me back to my bedroom, and that's when I remembered Bella was still in my bed where I left her. I put my ear to the door, hearing steady breathing and a gentle heartbeat. She must have fallen asleep.

Carefully I eased open the door and padded towards the bed, crawling in beside her sleeping form and pulling her close. She stirred, moaned, and looked up at me though half hooded eyes.

"Hey." She mumbled with a soft smile.

I felt one side of my mouth pull up, and the anger was gone in a flash. All thoughts before now were pushed aside and forgotten like they never even happened. Just like that. "Hey babe." I leaned down to gently press my lips to hers. She sighed into it and her fingers trailed down my neck. "Did you sleep alright?" I asked and then leaned in to kiss her again. She nodded. "Yeah, I had a very pleasant dream." I shifted so I was hovering above her, stealing a few quick kisses before moving down to the beautiful column of her throat. "Really, mind sharing?" Again she moaned, arching into me before finding the strength to speak. "This is actually pretty close to it." I chuckled against her skin and nipped gently. "Oh come on beautiful, you can do better then that." My hands wandered down and slipped under her shirt, and her hands were quick to follow.

"It's hard to speak when you're touching me this way Warren."

"Oh is it?"

I dug my claws slightly into the soft flesh of her sides and she gasped, her body jumping up and pressing into mine. "You did that on purpose!" She squeaked as I raised her off the bed and kept her wiggling form close to me. "I can't help it if I like the way your body feels against mine." I murmured into her ear. "It just fits so perfectly." She shuttered, and I chuckled when she tried and failed to suppress a moan. "You're just full of surprises aren't you?" She asked breathlessly.

I didn't answer and instead continued to lick, bite, and kiss her into a hot mess in my arms before placing her back on my bed. I didn't want to over do it, after all we had plenty of time for fooling around later on. As I said before I didn't want to rush things just because there was an army after Bella. I planned on keeping it slow, I've had relationships that burned out because I didn't tone it down, and Megan was the perfect example of that.

"Call me crazy, but I think I need to get you back. Wouldn't want your dad worrying about why your not home on a Friday night."

She sighed, reluctant as I was for her to leave but saw I was right. Bella got up and headed for the bathroom to fix herself up and I went into the kitchen to pour myself a cold cup of black coffee. As it nuked in the microwave the phone rang, and I paused a moment before answering, after all it's only been a few weeks since my first encounter with that damn rouge in my apartment. Call me paranoid but I'd hate to fucking have to go through that shit again. Needless to say I picked up the phone, taking a moment before answering.

"Yeah?" I answered carefully.

"Hey Warren, is it okay for me to come up? I'd hate to walk in on something I shouldn't."

Immediately I recognized the caller as Kyle, and knew he was smiling like the idiot he was. "You're a fuckin ass Kyle; of course you can come up. Door's unlocked."

As soon as I said that the door suddenly flew open and he was standing in my living room, cell still at his ear which he hung up as soon as I slammed my phone back in its cradle. "You know, even I have the decency to knock when somebody tells me ahead of time the doors fucking open."

"Well you're the only Shifter alive who still uses chivalric manners."

"Is that why I had no trouble picking up women Kyle? Because if I recall correctly, and I always do, it was always me who left with someone when we used to club."

His smile flipped instantly and I laughed as I retrieved my coffee from the microwave.

"Being a smooth talker isn't anything to be proud of Warren."

I just smirked, Kyle couldn't offend me easy. "It is when you want to obtain information. I can make anyone talk without the use of force verbally or physically. That's why I was in D.S. Ops and you were the commanding officer of the Pride army."

"Who says I'm still not?" He stated hotly.

Like I said, I wasn't the one to offend easy in this relationship.

Kyle then came over and leaned across the counter, a wide grin cracking his face. A thought just hit him. And most likely he was going to attempt to dig at me with information I might not like. My body tensed automatically, prepared for anything he was about to say or do. "Bella seemed eager to meet you." He noted nonchalantly. "Did ya give her a good welcome home present?"

I rolled my eyes at him as my muscles relaxed slightly. "That ain't any of your damn business Kyle." He continued to grin as I sipped at my coffee. "If you don't knock that fucking grin off your face I'll do it for you." I told him in sweetly. Just as Kyle went to say something Bella walked in. Her eyes saw me and she came over and wrapped her arms around my waist. I could've sworn I saw Kyle wince at how she showed her affection for me so openly. Good, bastard should be jealous.

"Hey babe." I leaned down and kissed her deeply, used my tongue a little bit, then pulled away. "Ready to hit the road?" Taken by surprise by my intensity she just nodded. "Okay then, see ya around Kyle." With my hand at her waist I led her out, leaving an awkward Kyle in my kitchen. I smiled triumphantly, knowing for now I had the upper hand.

"What was that all about?" Bella asked me.

"Kyle had to comment on how you acted about wanting to see me, so I retaliated accordingly." I answered easily.

She shook her head at me, but I saw a smirk so I knew she didn't mind. Though now I had to admit as I helped her back into her truck I felt like an ass for using her to get back at Kyle like that. I mean I knew I leaned towards the masculine side in the gender spectrum, but I didn't need to act like an immature boy and use my smokin' hot girlfriend against my bud because he said something I didn't approve of. But it was instinct too; he said something to challenge me so I had to show I was the stronger beast. It was complicated really, I looked like a human but I had to keep reminding myself that I was an animal, I ran on mostly instinct.

I conversed with Bella the rest of the way to her house to stop my confusing inward argument, asking her how she held up and if Kyle acted like the perfect gentleman in my absence. She said she missed me, a lot. Like, she was ready to go crazy a lot. I made a sly comment and she punched my arm, and I purposely swerved the truck to freak her out. This resulted in another punch and getting my head bit off about how I could've killed us both.

Man, I loved being in a relationship.

When I dropped her off Charlie practically begged me to come inside to watch some basketball game with him. I did, one part being that I could spend more time with Bella, and the other half being I couldn't tell the poor guy no. Needless to say it ended up being a macho guy fest, complete with finger foods I made from scratch, yelling at the television, and the occasional overzelous high five. The whole time Bella sat comfortably next to me, our linked fingers hidden in between us. It was a dangerous move if Charlie happened to catch it, but if she was willing to take the risk I was even more willing to join in.

It made me happy to see Charlie was excited to have me around. Sure, he kept a wary eye on me however he'd never think I'd do anything extreme. He may be a cop and expect the absolute worst in people who looked like me, but he was a friend of the family. He's known me long enough to see I had more good traits then bad. In a way he was like a father figure, someone that felt like family when currently my own was scattered. How he would take it when he found out I was dating his only child was a cause for concern, though I'm sure he wouldn't freak out too much. After all, he and Bella weren't too much different.

My cell went off just at the tail end of the game. It turned out to be Gabe, and I excused myself and went out of the room to answer it.

"What up bro?" I answered in a hushed tone.

"We got a bit of a problem."

He sounded grave, I didn't like it. Not one bit. Gave Gabe meant bad news, and bad news was not what I wanted to hear, especially after today. "What kind of problem?" Already I was thinking horrible things, a death in the Pride, an early vampire attack, something to disturb the peace of my day.

"The surrounding Clans found out you returned, and they want you to attend the Autumn festival as the High Guest of Honor."

Relief was quick to flood my veins, but then anger and annoyance were just as quick to replace it. "You're a fuckin' douche monkey!" I almost screamed. "You had me thinking something fuckin' bad happened to the Pride!"

"Douche monkey? Really?" Gabe laughed.

"I can call you a whole lot fuckin' worse, you know that." I hissed menacingly.

"But this _is_ bad," Gabe said more seriously, after getting over his fit of giddy laughter. "If you're the High Guest of Honor, Bella will have to attend at your side. She'll be the center of most of the festivities and most likely become a target. There hasn't been a human in the festivals in ages, and there are some Shifters who aren't too welcoming of outsiders in their rituals. Is she really ready to be recognized as your mate and take what comes with it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Believe me Gabe, Bella is more then ready. We may have just started this relationship, but she understands what it means to be my mate."

He didn't seem convinced. "There will be thousands of Shifters. She'll most likely be the only human participating." He said again.

"And I'll be at her side like any good mate should," I reassured. "Bella will be fine. No one will harm her if they know she's with me. I still have my rep."

He sighed. "I'm just giving you the heads up sis; I'm worried about how this will turn out."

"You always worry."

"It's my job." He said. Then I heard a door opening and a voice calling his name sweetly in the distance. "Look I gotta Warren, I'll call ya later."

I chuckled. "Looks like I'm not the only one who gets a surprise guest today."

"Love you sis." He said quickly.

"Love you too Gabe."

I hung up then returned to the living room to inform Charlie and Bella I had to leave. When Charlie asked why, I told him Gabe said I had to drop by to fix something. Bella walked with me out of the house, and I relayed the message Gabe told me. Like I expected she was nervous, but she took it in stride.

"So, what exactly is my part in this?" She asked tentatively.

I smiled comfortingly. "Pretty much you just dress in traditional attire and walk around greeting Elders and Clan leaders with me. Usually it's an Alpha, or war hero that's chosen as the High Guest of Honor, and they have to present a speech to open the festival and hold rituals and stuff." I pulled her against me and rubbed her back in soothing circles, trying to relax the tenseness of her body and clear her mind. "Trust me baby, it's a lot of fun. You'll have to aid me in a few things, but it'll be easy. I promise, I'll explain in depth when you come over my place tomorrow." I smirked and shook my head. "I'll have to fig out my old uniform. Haven't worn that thing in forever." She laughed and followed me to the edge of the forest, and gave me one amazing kiss goodbye before I took off. Technically I was taking the extra long way back to my loft, but the forest did me good. The fresh air, the moss covered ground under my feet, it connected me to the Earth and that's the best feeling in the world to a Shifter. And besides, it took the same amount of time to get back whither I drove or ran. Though I still felt a primal urge begging to be filled, so I scaled my building and went in through a secret hatch Gabe put in the back.

It was a old airway vent that he managed to rebuild, it led right into an antique vent in the living room that only a Feline could use without looking like an idiot getting in and out of. This was usually the way I got in and out of the loft when I came to visit, and so far I was the only one knew about its existence and how to use it. After shaking off the dust from my clothes I went straight into my room and to my closet to dig around for my uniform. I had to remove a shit tone of boxes that Gabe shoved in there but eventually I got them all out and started dishing through them.

I found some weapons in need of serious TLC and broken sculptures, and a few worn sketches I've been meaning to paint. I came across old photo albums and broken frames, some too old and most likely weren't mine. But after more fruitless searching I returned to the closet and turned on the light.

Deep red silk hung over the side of a high shelf, and out of curiosity I reached up to take it down. I gingerly slid the silk aside a bit to peek at what it was hiding. A beautifully lacquered mahogany box with cherry blossom inlay shone in the dim light of the closet, and suddenly it became really precious to me. I brought it out and sat on my bed. An overwhelming feeling of some sort came over me, like the box and I were connected somehow. But I've never seen it before. I didn't recognize it, though somehow it was familiar to me. I reached for the curved bronze latch, but a swarm of voices flooded my ears causing my hand to draw back. I shook my head and the voices stopped. I reached for the latch again and slowly lifted it open. In the darkness of my room I couldn't see much of its contents; the only thing that I could see was a knife. It must have been as long as my forearm, with a black skillfully cord wrapped hilt and a ruby tassel. There was a circular guard that separated the hilt from a double sided blade that led to a diagonal point. There were strange symbols along the blade and I couldn't make out what they meant. I put the box on the bed and carefully lifted out the knife, holding it to the light of the afternoon sun to get a better look. An agonizing shock ran up my arm and caused me to drop the blade, and my head was suddenly overrun with voices I couldn't recall and events I didn't recognize. Pain erupted in my side and screaming filled my head. I tried to cover my ears to muffle the noise but it just got louder. Then, just as quickly as it had come, a numbing silence took its place. I collapsed back into my bed covered in a cold sweat and aching all over.

Blood leaked into my mouth, and I realized then I bit my lip during my strange episode. I must have tried to scream, and bit down on my bottom lip to try and mute it. With a moan I rolled out my bed and stumbled into the hallway. I couldn't be in that room anymore, there were energies in there I couldn't handle.

I continued into the living room, feeling drunk and on the verge of passing out. I slid along the wall and fell to the floor, unable to find the energy to get up again. I tried to understand what happened, what this whole thing meant, but I couldn't. My head throbbed, my chest hurt, I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep this nightmare off.

And that's what I did.

Sorry to give another chiffhanger, but there is only so much i could fit into one chapter without having issues. so as always my lovelies reveiw, tell me your thoughts and hopes for future chapters, and any are welcome to PM me with questions or just to chat :) the next chapter will be up within the next few days, so don't fret!


	16. Spinning a Yarn

Hello my lovelies! glad to see you all liked my last post, hopefully this one meets your expectations. the next chapter will be a doozy, I plan on putting plenty of lemon zest in it ;)

Warren's P.O.V 

A burning sensation woke me from my dead sleep. My hand shot to my chest, grasping the pendant around my neck tightly as it singed my hand. I looked around, noticing that I was lying on my side in the living room.

I couldn't remember anything that happened last night. So I didn't know how I got here, or why my body ached so badly. I shut my eyes as my head throbbed with each beat of my heart, and all of the sudden someone was next to me trying to touch my face. I tried to fight back, but I was too disoriented.

"Warren it's me, remember? Quinn Richards, your next door neighbor?"

I tried to squint my eyes so I could see the face in front of me. Slowly I managed to focus in and see a freckled face topped with crazy red hair. I shook my head, and though it made my head feel worse the focus became better. Now I saw my neighbor Quinn, he lived in the apartment diagonal to mine. And lucky for me he was gay too, if not more so.

In fact, try to picture the most annoying gay guy lisp you can think of, combine that with the orange haired and freckled lanky body of a twenty something year old and a pro gay flamboyant personality and you got Quinn here. "What up Quinn?" I said groggily. He pulled me up gently and helped me over to the couch, where he took the liberty to check me for any signs of injury. "Worrying about you baby doll. I noticed your door was ajar so I went to see if you were okay, and I found you on the floor." He reached in his pocket for a pen light and flashed it across my eyes. "Pupils reacting normally, no visible injuries to your head or any part of your body, is your side okay? You seem to be favoring it." He moved my hand away to lift up my shirt to check my right side. "No lacerations or bruising." He stated. "But you're cold and sweating. What happened last night Warren, did you get into a fight or something?"

I shook my head slowly, a bit annoyed that he automatically jumped to a fighting conclusion. "Don't remember."

"Well I had Cujo fetch my kit; he should be here any second." Just then heavy footsteps came through the front door and I turned to greet the largest black man I've had the pleasure of meeting. "Morning Cujo!" I called to him. "How's my main man doin'?" He came over and pulled me up into a bone crunching hug, laughing a deep, gravely laugh. Quinn said something discouraging but we both ignored him. "Been good Warren," His deep bass voice greeted me, and then he looked to Quinn. "Got your kit Doctor McGeek, you left it in the bedroom again." Quinn blushed and took the navy duffel bag from his large hand. "I'm a nurse Cujo, not a doctor. And you know I hate it when you call me that." He laughed and set me back down, winking at Quinn before going into the kitchen to start my coffee brewer. "Aw come on baby, you love it when I call you that! In fact just the other night you especially loved-"

"Cujo!"

I laughed and watched as a now red Quinn checked my vital signs and placed a stethoscope to my chest. His eyebrows pinched together, causing the blush to fade as confusion took over. "Huh, your heartbeat's a tad off. Strange." He rested the stethoscope around his neck and sighed. "I don't see anything wrong really, but I'm still not sure if you're in good heath. I'll give you some pain killers but I want you to shower first, to see if it dulls the ache. After that I think I'll stick around a bit to monitor your progress. Looks like the car show is not happening today, Cujo sweetie." He said towards the kitchen area.

Cujo waved him off and started the stove. Looks like I'm having breakfast made for me this morning. This threw me off a little, since I pretty much grew up fending for myself. But I had to say it was nice for a change even if I didn't want the gesture done. "No worries, I haven't seen Warren in years. It'd be nice to catch up, you know reminisce and all that other happy horse-"

The sound of the phone ringing cut him off, and before I could stop him Quinn dove to get it. "Warren Walker residence and studio, neighbor Quinn Richards speaking!" He chimed happily. There was a slight pause, and then his eyebrows shot up. Already I was going to not like this. "Bella Swan. Oh what a beautiful name! What can I do for you dear?" Oh no, Bella! I told her she could drop by today so I could explain the festival to her, how could I have forgotten that? I wanted to pounce Quinn and grab the phone from but my side acted up and I was forced to watch helplessly as the conversation continued.

Quinn nodded and did the whole "uh huh" and "yeah" thing before looking over at me. "Sorry sweetie, Warren can't come to the phone right now. She had a bit of an accident and-"

"Tell her I'm fine!" I hissed at him angrily. Bella was worried enough about me stepping between her and a vampire army; she didn't need to think I was fatally injured too.

He rose his hand up in defense and corrected himself. "She's fine of course, you know her. Severe case of Stubborn Shifter Syndrome, it's genetic I swear." They talked for what seemed like hours, conversing the way two girls usually would, except Quinn wasn't a girl. From what I could catch though Bella loved Quinn already. That was good; considering he'd never leave us alone when he found out she was my mate. "Well why don't you stop by sweetie? My boyfriend's making a huge breakfast and I'm sure we won't be able to finish it all by ourselves! Oh? Your close by, well then I guess we'll see you soon then. Alrighty then, Bubye." He hung up the phone and looked at me with a devilish grin. "A lady friend is on her way to meet with you Warren."

Cujo looked over and smiled, frying eggs and bacon while preparing toast at the same time. Show off. "What kind of lady friend? We all know Warren loves variety in her diet." I took the nearest object and chucked it at him, catching him square in the back of the head. I always had good aim, and Cujo should've known better then to mess with me. "Fuck! No hitting the cook Warren!" He bellowed. I rolled my eyes and forced myself up, I wanted to be the one to answer the door when Bella got here, whether I was in agony or not. "Well don't make me sound like a fuckin' player and I won't throw shit at ya." I got to the door, ignoring the extreme soreness of my body and waited precisely five minutes before Bella knocked on the door. I opened it and immediately stepped out and closed it behind me. Before Bella could say anything I pushed her up against the wall next to my door and kissed her fiercely. Her hands grabbed my face and pulled me impossibly closer, making the kiss harder and a growl rip up my throat. I dove my hands under her shirt and along the smooth planes of her back, mesmerized by the soft, silk-like skin as it passed under my fingertips. I playfully toyed with her bra clasps and she gasped against my lips. "Warren!" she breathed out in surprise. "Not out here!" I just chuckled and moved to nip at her collarbone. "Oh relax Bells, let me have my fun. I won't be able to in a minute." I pressed my body against her, moving in such a way that she instantly melted into me. She moaned, and my mind went nuts. I wanted to take her right there against the wall, but I knew better. Besides, the more I moved the more my joints acted up. So I gave her a couple more mind-blowing kisses and let her go before taking her hand and walking her inside.

As I expected Quinn reacted immediately as soon as he caught our laced fingers. "Well, well, well! What do we have here? I have to say Bella compared to Warren's past ladies you're an absolute bombshell!" Bella blushed deeply and I stared daggers at him.

"I haven't been with that many women Quinn."

I looked down at Bella, smiled a bit, and then looked back at Quinn. Her hand squeezed mine and she leaned into me, her head resting slightly on my shoulder. "And besides," I added in a softer tone. "Bella's it. I'm not searching anymore." His jaw dropped open and I heard Cujo stop short on his way to the living area. "Holy Mother Nature!" Quinn exclaimed. "You imprinted, oh I'm so happy for you! The both of you!" Cujo set a platter overflowing with eggs, meat, and hotcakes and grinned broadly. "'Bout time it happened. I was wondering why you didn't act your usual somber, cutthroat self." We joined them and I sat Bella on the couch as I poured everyone drinks.

"So? How did you two meet?" Quinn asked immediately. "I just _have _to know." Cujo sat his large frame in a reading chair, where Quinn naturally made to sit in his lap. I've always found it strange when I saw this, considering that they were complete opposites. A massive African American wereJaguar imprinting on a lanky wereHawk nerd/healer, talk about opposites attracting. But who was I to judge? Love was love, no matter where you found it. And I more then understood that saying. "It's a long story man." I said as I settled myself in beside Bella, my arm circling her waist as she smiled.

"We got all day baby doll, and you always do spin a great yarn."

I did a chuckle/sigh, knowing he wasn't going to let this go anytime soon. That was the thing about Quinn; he was too persistent for his own good. "What do you say Bells? I start spinning and you fix the frays?" She nodded and sipped at her coffee, humming contently when she noticed I made it the way she preferred it; hazelnut coffee, vanilla creamer, two sugars.

So I sat there for the next hour or so, explaining how I first saw her walk in a local lesbian Shifter bar from the rain, and how I was a gentleman and treated her to a warm drink and light conversation. "And then I decided to take her to a different bar," I added. "You know since Cougar Corner is packed on Fridays, but the weather was so shitty we had to sprint to my place till the storm lightened up. I didn't know it at the time, but I imprinted on her the moment we caught eyes. Guess it would explain my possessiveness."

"I was so confused at first," Bella added. "I've never done anything like that before, and I knew going to a stranger's apartment was a bad idea. But there was something about Warren that just made me feel safe, and she was making me feel so wonderful I couldn't help but follow. I was going through a rocky breakup and she just made all the hurt disappear for awhile."

"Walkers do have a certain charm and chivalric side to them, almost like misplaced knights." Quinn interjected. "Yeah, not to mention the fact that Walkers were knights to begin with." Cujo added. Bella gave me a puzzled look, but I just rolled my eyes. "Can we stick to the current subject here? Alright, so we go up to my apartment-"

"Where she falls into your arms, her chest heaving with lust as you gaze at her in primal hunger, and you whisk her away to your quarters and dined on her supple, ivory flesh till you have met her needs for a thorough lovemaking?"

The room fell silent as Bella and I both looked at Quinn in shock. "Where the fuck did that come from?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Just guessing. It seemed like an event that would take place with a romantic such as yourself Warren."

"Babe come on," Cujo said in a soft, purring voice. "Let them finish, you can talk more about romance when we get back to our place." Quinn blushed severely but stayed silent. Ah the wonderful thing about being a Feline, we're very persuasive. "Anyway." I stated. "Nothing happened, she didn't sleep over. I gave her a change of clothes and drove her home."

"But you did spend the night at my place." Bella said with a grin. "Yeah, but nothing happened." I corrected before they got ideas. "You couldn't fall asleep, so I stayed until you did. I left and put my number on your desk in case you wanted to call or something."

"And I did. My car was still in town and I asked if you could drive it back."

"I loaded my bike in and dropped it off at her house. She invited me in for some coffee and I happened to notice she wasn't doing anything that day, so I suggested we go out and do something."

She put her hands on her hips and quirked an eyebrow at me. "Excuse me! If I recall correctly you practically pushed me up the stairs and told me we were going out." I rose my hands up in defense. "I apologized didn't I?" Cujo and Quinn laughed as I continued with our story. "So I decided to take her into town on my bike to the sushi bar around the corner of our complex. Of course Horimoto San was ecstatic to see me, and he offered us a free meal if I played a song there. After the performance we ate and chatted awhile."

"So it was like a date basically." Quinn stated.

I thought about it a bit before answering. "Not really, she didn't know I imprinted on her yet."

"Don't forget to mention when that gang tried to steal your bike Warren." Bella told me.

"Someone tried to steal your bike?"

"Yeah, but I gave them a good lesson. Handcuffed them to lamp posts and tied the lead dumbass to a pipe with his belt, left em for the cops." I explained. "The guy managed to cut me before I tied him up, but I gave him the beating he asked for." Cujo nodded, smirking his approval and gesturing me to keep going. "I was so furious I had to go blow some steam. I had Tim, the waiter at the sushi bar get my bike so I could head down to the old factory district. I went into one of the buildings, and…I…well…" I suddenly couldn't find the words to express how I let my rage take over; lashing out at anything I could get my hands on. How I was in so much pain I could barely feel how I turned my hands into two bloodied lumps attached to my wrists. How I allowed Bella see me in such a raw state, there was just no use trying to explain it. The room went quite, no one wanting to say anything. Cujo and Quinn were afraid to set me off, I knew this. They've known me long enough, they knew how I got. Bella squeezed my hand, and to my surprise started the story back up again.

"She broke down and started pulverizing the room I found her on. She destroyed everything she touched, and when she ran out of things to break she started hitting the walls. I've never seen anyone so distraught in my life; it made me want to cry. I knew I should've been scared, but I just wasn't. I wanted to be afraid or feel something another person would but I couldn't bring myself to be, Warren needed me. I knew she did. So I walked into the open, called her name, and she just looked at me. Her eyes looked so wounded and tortured; I just couldn't leave her like that." Quinn looked about ready to bawl his girly eyes out, and Cujo patted him gently on his leg. "Sounds like you two got pretty deep there." He said. I nodded. "Yeah, we reached a level in that warehouse. She realized I wasn't quite as composed as I made myself out to be, but she didn't quite see how much I really did need her. She still thought I was human and I didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. I probably should've, made our lives a bit easier."

"We went back to her place so she could patch me up; we spoke a bit, ended up snoozing on the couch. We woke up and I went into the kitchen to fix us up some grub and when I went to the fridge to see what they got, her old man came in and almost capped me, thought I was a burglar."

"Oh no! Did he shoot you?" Quinn asked alarmed.

"Nah, Bella stopped him. Then he recognized me and apologized. I made lunch, we conversed, and then after cleaning up I went home. That's when I got attacked by a newborn, right in this room actually, and found out that Bella was being stalked by a rouge bitch. I ended up getting the pride involved by hanging around her, and I planned to tell her I was a Shifter when the Pride was going to meet with a nearby Wolf pack. I couldn't protect her by lying you know?" They nodded, Quinn looked like he wanted to say something but tried her hardest not to. "For a few weeks everything was fine," I continued. "I gained her trust and became a familiar figure, and then we got into a mishap at her school with this blond idiot. Long story short I had to go to the police station after threatening her life for making Bella cry. Her father's the police chief; he's the one who picked me up. I told him how it all went down and I went to pick Bella up at school but everybody said she went home early. I knew then something was wrong so I went straight to her place." I shook my head, already thinking about everything that happened that one day. "She called me saying she was lost in the forest next to her house. I told her to stay put but a rouge vampire attacked her. I got there as quick as I could, but he already banged her up pretty good. I warned him with a few buck shots and tried to get her out, but he jumped me. I wanted to tear the bastard to pieces though the Pride and Wolves came and took care of him. I took Bella home and put her to bed, and then things got a little weird."

"Weird? Weird how?" Quinn practically squawked.

"I got her to kiss me." Bella said sheepishly, a light pink tinting her cheeks. "I hit my head pretty good and I forced myself on her." Quinn laughed his ass off and Cujo tried not to, but couldn't help it. I smiled and started talking, since she didn't remember what happened next. "I did a pressure point to knock her out and tried to wrap my head around what she did. She blurted out she liked me and we practically made out, but I was flipping the fuck out because if she remembered what happened in the clearing I'd have to tell her the truth. She saw a pack of Wolves and Panthers chase after a vampire, what was I supposed to tell her?"

Bella inched closer to me, her hand now resting on my thigh as she cut in. "I woke up and much to Warren's dread remembered pretty much everything, so we drove to First Beach and before we got there she came clean about her being a werepanther, and I accepted everything she told me."

"Which flipped me the hell out." I stated. "I've never met a human like her, she pretty much just shrugged it all off like it was nothing. It was pretty amazing."

"Did you tell Bella you imprinted on her?" Cujo asked to my surprise.

"Not yet, that conversation came later. I was still in shock she took me as a friend who was a Shifter, I didn't know how she'd react if she also knew I imprinted on her.

"But she came clean with that too after the meeting. "Bella added. "Not counting the dazed kiss we shared at home, our first kiss was right there on the beach. It was absolutely amazing." I noticed as she said this glazed look came over her eyes, like she could still vividly remember that day. Even though it wasn't too long ago since it happened. "Yeah." I agreed softly. Yeah it was." After she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek I clapped my hands together and raised myself off the couch.

"That's pretty much how we hooked up in a nutshell, now if you don't mind I'm gonna head into the shower. I really need to work out these kinks." I made my way over to the bathroom and shredded my clothes, I couldn't even raise my arms over my head I was so sore. So I did what any Shifter would do and just took my claws and tore em, no use putting myself through more hurt then I already was in. I blasted the hot water and climbed in; wishing faintly that Bella would walk in and join me. I wasn't in any rush though and knew it would take awhile before that happened. Bella still needed time to adjust to our imprinting. I was willing to wait till she was more confident and self assured, though I could only imagine how sexy Brave Bella could be.

_All in good time. _I thought to myself, a smile easily finding its way to my scarred lips. _Can't rush a good thing._

I hope you all enjoyed chapter 16! make sure you review and tell me how i did, what your ideas will be on what will happen next, and anything else a writer loves to hear! i love reading your comments, so make sure to post plenty of them! I'll be sure to get the next chapter up soon, i promise not to keep you all waiting...too long :)


	17. Getting Closer

Hello again lovelies! i hope i wasn't too long, but if i was then boy do i have a treat for you! remember that lemon zest i promised? well i kept it, lets just hope its as good as i think it is...only one way to find out for sure, go and enjoy chapter 17!

Bella's P.O.V.

"So, what exactly happened to Warren?" I asked tentatively. An awkward silence had fallen over the living room since Warren left to shower, and I decided I was going to break it. After all these were her friends, she was trying so hard to fit into my world, so there was no reason that I shouldn't make an effort myself. Quinn finished his bite of pancake and followed it with a swig of orange juice.

"To tell you the truth dear, I'm not really sure. I just walked into the building on my way back from my shift at the hospital, saw her door was left ajar and found her collapsed on the floor. But I can't say this is the only time I've seen her like that."

"What do you mean?" I felt my eyebrows pinch together, and suddenly thought of Warren's fingers gently rubbing the space between them to relax them, telling me I'd get wrinkles if I kept doing that.

Quinn had moved to another chair when Cujo started to clean up after breakfast, making sure to make up a plate for Warren and promising me to make sure she ate it. "Damn girl never eats right. I'm just waiting for the day she finally drops because of it." I heard him grumble.

"Well I've known Warren for years." Quinn said, tossing Cujo a warning look before facing me. "I've seen her like that more times then I can count, and actually seen her pass out a few times too." He explained. "She never remembers anything afterwards though. I keep telling her to see a specialist about it, but you know her, she's got that pride of hers. Won't do anything that'll show she's weak."

"Nah," Cujo interrupted. "She won't do anything about it because she's like me, she takes it all in stride. No need for worryin' bout herself when she got a whole bunch of other shit goin' on."

I shook my head. "Wait, you mean this happened before; she just passes out and gets complete memory blocks? That doesn't make any sense." Quinn nodded. "I agree with you wholeheartedly Bella. But I wouldn't try talking with her about it; she'll just blow it off like its nothing."

"But it's not nothing Quinn, it could be serious."

"Trust me dear, she won't hear it so don't even try to reason. In fact, now that she has a mate she'll be more concerned with your wellbeing and completely forget about hers. Trust me, I should know." As he said this, Quinn glared daggers over into the kitchen at Cujo, who just grinned and waved. "That man gives me angina like you wouldn't believe." I bit back a laugh, and then chanced a glace over towards the bathroom. It's only been a little over ten minutes, but I started to feel like I should be doing something to help Warren.

Quinn must have seen this, because he sat closer to me and started digging through a navy duffel bag by his feet. "I find it easy to get the answers I want by doing something extremely 'nice' for my mate, if you catch my drift." He whispered, winking at me slyly. He pulled out three different sized containers and explained each one to me. "This big one here is an herb infused cream that relaxes the muscles and promotes a sense of ease, great for after she trains or pushes herself a bit too far on the field." He placed it in my hands and went on to explaining the others. "This one here you only use around her joins, it's a gel that alleviates inflammation and discomfort due to stress and whatever else she does to manage any sort of joint pain." He smacked that one on top of the first one and held up a bottle full of what looked an awful lot like olive oil specked with silver dust. "This is my own creation, made specifically for Shifters." He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned closer. "I bet my next paycheck that you'll never leave anywhere without it."

"What is it exactly?" I questioned out of curiosity, taking the bottle in my hand.

"Massage oil that warms the more it's worked into the skin. Yeah, yeah it sounds like the shit they talk about on television for humans but this is a unique blend of oils and herbs that makes any Shifter fall into a different metal state. They become more relaxed, blissful and slightly aroused as this potion works its magik." He went on to explain different massage techniques I should try, and what I should expect if I decide to use it on Warren. I started getting all warm and tingly at the things that could happen with the help of this bottle. And these were just thoughts.

"So I can use this to get answers from Warren?" I asked Quinn. "Sure." He shrugged. "But you can get more from it then just answers sweetie, so be careful. After all, you're dealing with a love making machine as your imprint, unless you want her to fuck your brains out I suggest you leave the oil for a rainy day and you got nothing better to do then stay in bed." I bit the inside of my cheek; even though I was more than afraid to do anything remotely intimate with Warren I wasn't so sure I was going to pass this opportunity by. It was still early for us to even think of trying anything but I had to show Warren I was more than ready for what our relationship would bring. Even if it meant risking the possibility of Warren slipping into the more primal side of herself that I knew wanted me more than I could imagine possible.

"Well thanks Quinn, I really appreciate this."

"No problem Bella, I'm always happy to help out a fellow imprint."

Cujo came back into the living area and took his seat. "What are you two talkin' about?" He asked with a jerk of his eyebrow. "Nothing hun," Quinn answered. "Just giving Bella some advice about being a mate, and giving her some salves to ease Warren's discomfort, you know how hard that girl works." I saw Cujo eyeing the bottle of oil in my hand and he smirked. "You gonna try that stuff on her? That stuff works wonders on kinks." He gave Quinn a look I didn't try to decipher, because I could tell it was quite provocative. I could also tell this was going to be another awkward situation, so I decided to change the subject. "So how did you two meet? Your story seems more interesting than ours." Cujo threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, showing that he had a canine missing. He was quite a handsome man now that I looked at him, what with his bold facial features, broad frame, and seemingly flawless ebony skin. But as I looked closer his skin was covered in faded scars, much like Warren's except his didn't stick out so much.

"Not really much to tell." He said. "But Quinn always tells it best, don't you baby?" Quinn blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "I'll give you the condensed version of it." He said with slight annoyance. "It was almost Christmas and I was out bar hopping with a few of my friends. I went to this one gay bar and low and behold I found this guy," Quinn stated, jabbing his thumb towards Cujo. "Sitting in a booth in a dark corner practically bleeding to death, and sucking down beers like no tomorrow. Against the pleas of my friends I sat and treated him, and found out he didn't want to see tomorrow. He'd recently just gotten back from overseas and found his family wanted nothing to do with him. I asked him why and he said because he was gay, and I found my heart went out to him since my family was really accepting of my orientation.."

"Yeah, emotionally your heart went to me, but your mouth bitched me out like a bat outta hell."

Quinn glared but continued. "Anyway, I ditched my friends and spent the rest of the night with him. We talked and, well we hit off pretty quick." Cujo smirked and reached for Quinn's hand, squeezing slightly. "And by quick he means I told him right off the bat he was my mate. He still thought I was drunk and got me a motel room for the night, and we got into a little tiff about something I can't remember."

"I called him a sleazy drunk who would do or say anything to get laid, which is ironic because when it was all said and done we ended up in the bed together." Cujo nodded. "Yeah, but I got all guilty and told him if he wanted nothing to do with me after tonight to be gone by the time I woke up. The sun rose the next day, I had the worst hangover of my life, and the bed was empty. I thought Quinn was gone for good and I just lost the only man for me. It's the worst feeling in the world to lose that one person that's your one and only. Hurts more than gettin' shot."

Quinn smiled broadly, looking almost giddy as he spoke. "But he didn't. Because I came back in with a bloody Mary and bagels and told him that after last night I couldn't deny the fact that he actually did imprint on me, because of the way he kissed me. It just seemed to complete me, and who can walk away from something that completes you?"

I couldn't deny Quinn's words, because they were true. "I couldn't agree more." I found myself saying softly. They both smiled at me, but it was a different kind of smile. Like they knew exactly what I meant. "So we dated for about five months to get to know each other, he moved into my place, then a year later we were married." Quinn held up their linked hands to show off two gold bands that glinted beautifully on each of their ring fingers.

"Really?"

"It'll be our ten year anniversary this coming winter." Cujo announced proudly. "We plan on having our vows renewed, this time we wrote em. So it should be pretty special, considering he wanted that done the first time 'round." I smiled at him, thinking that was really sensitive for a guy like himself. He must really care for Quinn to do something so intimate and touching, and I thought I saw Quinn's eyes turn a bit glassy at the words. "Wow, you two look really happy." I said. "Isn't it hard though, being married?" I briefly thought of my parent's divorce, but it surprised me since I never put much thought into it before. I wondered if I only thought of it because I felt somewhat afraid that would happen to Warren and me, just drifting apart and rarely ever speaking to each other. It already happened once with Edward, would it actually happen again?

"Well, yes and no." Quinn started. "Being married is just like imprinting, except that you have rings to symbolize that bond you share. You have your ups and downs, you fight, piss each other off, you say the wrong things and wish you could take them back, but no matter the obstacle you and your mate face you always get through it together. Love is a powerful thing dear; it strengthens a couple and tests that strength to its absolute limit." Cujo leaned forward towards me, studying my face closely. Too close for comfort.

"You worried 'bout being an imprint Bella?" He asked, though it sounded like he didn't want an answer, so I waited for him to speak. "Because I can tell ya right now, don't be." Cujo stated firmly. "You're in good hands, the best hands in fact." He straightened himself and smirked. "Warren's a good kid. She'll take care of ya like no man, or woman can. You just gotta trust her, give her your support. The worst thing you can do is doubt in a relationship, makes the foundation crumble and eventually it'll fall apart right from under ya. And don't put yourself down," He said each word sternly and with force, enough to make me listen but not harsh enough to sound mean. I guess he saw how inferior I felt, I was never good at hiding my emotions. "Man, took me years to get Quinn to finally see himself as my equal!" Cujo said exasperated. "You might feel different around Warren, probably like she has a kind of control over you, but that's just nature balancing you out. Can't have the Sub without the Dom, you get what I mean?" He wiggled his eyebrows and Quinn blushed, shoving him a bit before taking over. I didn't quite get what he meant by that, though I'm sure I'd come to me soon enough.

"Well we don't want to take up too much of your time dear, after all you got an achy Shifter to deal with!" They both got up and hugged me before starting towards the door. "It was nice to meet you Bella, we have to plan something soon, how does clubbing sound?"

"Sounds fantastic." I told him, feeling a bit excited about hanging out with another gay Shifter couple.

"Great! Tell Warren to call us with a date, or just drop by. We live in the apartment to the left of the one right outside Warren's, come in anytime!"

"'Sept when you hear noises, otherwise check back a bit later." Cujo added with a wink.

I laughed and walked them to the door, and just as I closed it behind them and grabbed the gifts Quinn gave me the bathroom door opened. "Hey Bella?" She called out. "We finally alone now or what?" I rolled my eyes and went down the hall preparing to tell her that Quinn and Cujo left already, but my jaw drop slightly as I watched her saunter over to her room, clad only in a pair of jeans hanging low on her hips. I swallowed, feeling a warm sensation building low in my belly. I continued into her room and saw she was going for a tank top, and surprised myself by reaching out and taking it from her. "Don't put that on." I told her quickly, my voice slightly breathy. She turned her head to face me, her eyebrow quirked in question.

"Why not? I can't just walk around topless; apparently women aren't allowed to do that."

"I…" I placed the extra lotions and creams on her nightstand, only holding the oil in my hand. "Quinn gave me something for your aches; it has to be rubbed in." I said. "Why don't you lay on the bed and…I…I'll do it…" She smirked but obeyed, slinking over and flopping her long body on the bed. "I'll be honest Bells," Warren purred as I straddled her waist, squeezing some of the oil into my hands. "This is cutting it pretty close, doesn't this bother you?" I felt my cheeks burn, though something inside me gave me the strength to keep my hands and voice steady. "Well if it helps ease your pain, it's worth it." I answered, rubbing my hands together before massaging deep into her shoulders. She hissed and arched her back slightly, but seemed more pleased then pained at my action. I leaned close to her ear, allowing some of my weight to press into her shoulders as she moaned slightly. "Besides, this doesn't bother me one bit." My voice sounded different, husky almost. It's never sounded like that, and for some reason it aroused me a little. Warren continued to groan and shift beneath me as I worked my hands down her shoulders and back, growling deeply when I found a kink and released it.

I remembered the techniques Quinn told me, about using the heels of my hands and my elbows, stuff he said he learned when he was in holistic medicine a few years back. I concentrated my massage on her lower back and shoulders mostly, since he said this was where most of the tension would be found in someone like her, a woman who worked hard and pushed too far. But the longer I worked the oil into her skin the more change I saw in Warren. Her moaning turned into possessive growls, her hands balled into the sheets as if she fought to stay on the bed. Her skin became suddenly hot, and when her face turned I noticed there was a faint flush across the bridge of her noise.

I knew I should've stopped when I saw this; I wasn't ready for anything that would happen when the properties of the oil finally took effect.

However my hands continued to work farther down towards the hem of her boxers, and her hips rose slightly, jolting me a little in the process. "Fuck Bells!" She gasped. There was sudden movement and before I could even comprehend what was going on I was on my bad with a very feral Warren on top of me. Her eyes were dilated, her body flexed and trembling. Her lips were open just the slightest bit and showed her fangs, which made me shiver pleasantly just by looking at them. Warren pinned my arms to the bed as she kissed me full force, pushing her tongue into my mouth and gained dominance instantly. Her knee shoved itself in between my legs and pushed up, making me cry out as she ground her leg against me. She caught the noise in another kiss and moved her body rhythmically, doing all these strange things that made my body hum and pulse with all these sensations I wasn't familiar with. My skin became hot, especially my face, and sweat started to make my clothes stick uncomfortably to my body. Just as I felt I was going to die from a heat stroke I heard ripping and my shirt tore away from my body, leaving me only dressed in only my bra and pants. This I was surprisingly fine with, since it cooled me down tremendously.

Warren's lips attached to my neck and nibbled and sucked on my collarbone. She was marking me, I realized. Her fangs pressed slightly into my skin as she sucked, making me moan uncontrollably when combined with her leg rubbing in between my thighs. She snarled, looking down on me with animalistic intent. "You have no idea how much I need you." Her voice sounded deep and throaty, masculine. It made me even more aroused, and I found my hips pressing into her leg as it continued its rhythmic movements. My eyes shut tightly as the movements quickened, the rubbing harder. "I _crave _you so badly." She stated as my body writhed beneath her. "It takes so much control to not just take you in town, in school, at your house. At any point in time, any place I chose, I could just pin you like this," She pressed her hard body against me for emphasis, wish made the pressure of her leg intensify. "And take you over, and over, and not stop until you don't even know your name anymore." I gasped as she moved down my body, kissing and nipping her way down to the top of my swollen breasts. "You taste so good right now Bells, I can only imagine how your pussy must taste." I cried out again as something built in between my thighs, a feeling so amazing that I wanted more of it. "Oh please," I almost begged. "Warren please, don't stop!" She kissed me again, and I found that her fangs only intensified my arousal. Her hand went down and ripped open the button and fly to my jeans, maneuvering them off my body and tossing them away. But just as she went to make a move her whole frame suddenly went still. I opened my eyes, seeing that her face was suddenly blank. Her hands slacked on my wrists, and she leaned back and moved off of me. She sat at the edge a moment before getting up and padding towards the door, picking up a crumpled button down along the way. She braced her clawed hand on the door jam, her face screwed up in deep confusion. She didn't look at me; her eyes looked down but didn't seem to focus on anything. Her thoughts troubled her, that's all I could identify.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled softly, almost painfully. "I'm so sorry."

She left and I laid there a moment, trying to gather myself to go after her. I tried with some effort to get out of her bed, my legs were so shaky it too me a moment to find my balance. I found an oversized shirt and put it on, dashing out of the room when I heard something break. I found Warren in the kitchen, slumped up against the cupboards and broken glass scattered on the floor on the other side. I dropped down in front of her and checked her for any injuries, and feeling relief when I found none. She still looked lost in thought, but I knew she noticed my presence. I started to apologize about the oil, that Quinn warned me of its effects, though she stopped me by pressing her finger to my lips. "It wasn't your fault." She said, kissing me gently. "I just…what you said, it reminded me of something…but I didn't understand it. Believe me if I wasn't interrupted I would've finished what I started." She pulled me close and I moaned a little, I was still recovering from our roll around so her touch still did weird things to me. Warren's eyes darkened but she regained control almost instantly. "Can we go lay on the couch or something? I still wanna explain the Autumn Festival to ya before you try pulling anything again." I laughed as she carried me to the couch, where we both snuggled for a while as she started telling me about the history and activities of the festival I would be attending at her side as her mate. I was only half listening though, because I was still confused about why she had stopped so suddenly. If it wasn't what I did that stopped her, then what else could it have been? She seemed so lost in thought back in room, almost like she was remembering something she didn't recognize, a memory that bothered her deeply. Then there was the anger and broken glass. What did it all mean? Did it coincide with these strange episodes Quinn was telling me about?

There were so many questions, and I didn't have any answers for them. I wanted to ask Warren and tell her what was troubling me, but I felt she wouldn't be able to help either. I guess this meant only one thing, I'd have to go dig and find answers myself. Though this scared me, because I didn't know what I would find when I started. But I just had to know. If it could help me understand Warren and help her heal from these wounds she had, then I'd do it. After all if the roles were switched, and I was in Warren's place, I know she'd do the same for me. Like Quinn said, love is a powerful bond, and this was just a test to see how strong my love was for Warren. And I knew I wouldn't fail, because if I was sure about one thing, it was how much I loved this Shifter who held me in her strong arms and took me for everything I was, body, mind, and soul. So it was only just I did what I could to show how much I loved and respected the one who made me whole, no matter what I had to go through to do it.

Warren: Well now, aren't i a sexy beast? *smirks and folds hands behind head*

Bella: *blushes*

Me: and it only took magik oil from a gay Shifter to get you to do it, great job Bella!

Bella: *blushes even harder*

Warren: *snarls* you tryin' to say something?

Me: No...jeez calm down!

Warren: *stares warningly* your lucky your a writer.

Me: yes, yes i am! anyhow, if you guys like this story press the button and write great reviews!

Warren: yeah, and give your throughts on future chapters. especially lemons *winks*

Me: hey now, that's not appropriate! sorry guys *gets emmbaressed* but if you guys got thoughts or requests i'd love to hear them, so until next time lovelies, keep up the comments and rewards will follow swift!


	18. Hitting the Breaks

Twilight does not belong to me but to the wonderful Stephine Meyer, I only own my badass oc Warren, who everyone know knows is one sexy beast ;)

Another chapter posted! Sorry again for the long update, but I have to say I'm quite proud of this one. But I'll allow you, my lovely readers be the judge of that, so enjoy chapter 18!

Warren's P.O.V.

Bella had fallen asleep next to me on the couch, something I came to be accustomed to and found a great comfort in.

As she breathed evenly by my side I couldn't help but wander back to what occurred back in my bedroom. I knew as soon as she suggested a massage something was up, and the oil was of Quinn's doing. I knew the guy too well. Of course I did nothing to stop it because I wasn't about to be telling Bella she crossed a line when there weren't any in place to begin with. I wanted to wait, being the "gentleman" I was, but if she wanted to experiment with her sexuality who was I to stop her? I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't want Bella to be as bold as she was, I've been dreaming about her in my bed for months, though the oil did too much. I was too forceful, too dominant. Although it was in my nature to be so, I didn't like the way I acted towards her, even though she didn't seem to mind at all if I was a bit rough on her in the sheets.

Which brings up the question: why the hell did I stop? Shifters never got distracted when it came to their mate's needs, and I mean _never. _

I told Bella it was because I remembered something, this was true. As soon as I went to give her what she begged for something came to me. A memory, one I didn't recognize. Just like the night before I started to get a sharp pain in my chest and my head was swimming with images and voices I couldn't recall. When Bella told me don't stop, I heard another woman say the same exact thing. I saw a face too, but couldn't conjure it up again to see if I remembered her. I felt weighed down with grief, like something life-giving was torn from me, leaving my body empty and riddled with pain and anguish. My body was breaking under the sheer force of these emotions, and it took every fiber of my being to keep from crying out from pain. Then I just went numb all over, my pendant growing cold instead of blazing hot. I then noticed Bella, looking up at me in clouded confusion, her flushed face clearly showing worry. I remember crawling off of her, then going to the door and apologizing before leaving the room entirely.

I felt the overpowering need to drink, so I went into the kitchen to poor myself some whiskey my brother left in the cabinet, but as I reach for a glass I threw it away from me with sudden disgust. I didn't abuse alcohol like that! I didn't use it as a cure-all; it wasn't made to treat depression or stress or anything like that! I was no fuckin' alcoholic like my mom; using booze to drown my sorrow and then beating her only fucking daughter till she was black and blue, spitting up blood and clutching shattered bones together so they regenerated correctly. I would never allow myself to drop down to that level. I'd die first before I ever became anything like her.

But that need, I felt like a damn druggie looking for a fix. I fought against it though, like I did everything else that came at me. I would not allow myself to be consumed; I was stronger than impulses or instinct. I wasn't a damn slave to anyone. No one could collar Warren Walker, not even herself.

I rubbed my face, feeling this internal battle I was waging with myself start to take its toll. My head felt like a war drum, beating painfully with every beat of my heart. My eyes wandered back to the coach where Bella was sleeping soundly. I walked back and leaned over, watching as her chest rose and fell softly. Her long, ivory legs were sprawled across the cushions, those beautiful legs that felt so good wrapped around my body. My fingers curled with the sudden itch to run my fingers over them. My eyes then took the liberty to drink in the rest of her luscious body; her curvy waist, her soft yet flat stomach, her perky breasts, the beautiful column of her throat and that beyond angelically perfect face…

How I ended up with a living Goddess as my imprint I'll never know. I was not merely lucky that the universe chose me as her mate, I was blessed. Blessed because she could love and accept this wounded soul I've become, mend it with her delicate hands and make it better than it ever was before. The pain I was suffering from somehow dissipated as I looked at her, leaving me pleasantly drifting between relief and euphoria.

I always thought that it was impossible for me to be fixed, but Bella proved me wrong. She made me want to change, gave me the drive I needed to be the kind of woman she deserved to have by her side. I'd do anything for this woman, anything she desired. Although I had to admit that was not completely true, if she told me to run from trouble I'd stay put, but if she told me to fuck her senseless then it I'd have her on her back in an instant.

I traced my fingers along her jawline, gently grazing my thumb on her slightly fuller lower lip. She sighed, eyes fluttering as they focused on my face. "Did I fall asleep again?" She asked sitting up, her voice cracking slightly from sleep.

"Only for a while," I assured her. "And who can blame you? I practically bored myself to death explaining the festivals to you."

She smiled, her hand coming up to touch my face. "It wasn't boring. I loved when you said that I'd get to mingle with other imprint couples like us, and get to dress up like an elf from Lord of The Rings." A smirk made its way to my lips as I crawled on top of her and clamed hers. "I always found pointy ears to be such a turn on…" She giggled as I kissed several places on her face before moving to the hollow of her throat. Yes, I know I told who to slow down, but how can anyone resist touching and kissing such a lovely person like this one, it was damn near impossible.

"What else turns you on?"

I looked up at her, mildly shocked she would ask me such an intimate question. Though I guess I should've been used to this behavior, the constant stream of questions. I was met with a confident gaze, and suddenly I got a glimpse of what Brave Bella looked like, and liked it. I was so caught off guard I allowed her to maneuver us so I was sitting upright, with her straddling my waist. _She's being so fucking hot right now. _Some voice purred in the back of my head. _I bet if I just reached my hand between her legs she'd be a hot mess in no time._ I growled softly as Bella fingered the buttons of my shirt in the most tantalizing manner. "Come on Warren," She whispered into my ear. "Tell me."

My eyes rolled back slightly as her lips grazed over the shell of my ear. "Ugh, Bells careful." I grunted. "Forget what happened in the bedroom already?" She tossed me this wicked little grin, it was absolutely sinful. If sexy had a face I could say without a shadow of a doubt it would look exactly like Bella right now. "Oh I haven't forgotten." She started to kiss my neck and unbutton my shirt, tracing her fingers on every inch of skin she exposed. My head fell back as I let her work her magick on me, allowing my body to surrender even as it started to fight against it. My hands cupped her ass and pulled her closer to me, she gasped though she didn't stop her ministrations.

I have no idea where this surge of bravado came from, but I didn't much care. She had the guts to come onto me like a lustful Feline, and that was definitely something that made me hot. "You being this fuckin' sexy turns me on." She smiled, pressing her breasts against me. "Keep going." She stopped unbuttoning my shirt and took my hands and led them to the bottom hem of her shirt.

"Everything about you is a turn on." I continued in a husky voice. "Your body, your personality...I just can't get enough of you."

My hands ran up over her stomach to palm her cloth covered breasts as I kissed her deeply. She moaned deeply into my mouth, making me wetter by the second. "When you moan it drives me insane, and oh when you cry out my name…" I moved my hands back down to her legs, rubbing her thighs slowly. "You make me feel like a guy in way, though I'm sure other lesbians would have my head on a pike for saying that." Bella looked into my eyes; they were glazed over yet questioning. "You like feeling like that?" I grinned. "It's in my blood babe. When you live as a Shifter you're brought up learning you're born with a two part soul, half of it is feminine and the other is masculine. They work together to bring harmony within the Shifter, in Walkers though the masculine side is stronger, so we tend to be more dominant, aggressive, and have a more warrior-like personality then other Shifters." I continued to nibble on her collarbone as I spoke, letting my hands wander up and down her legs, causing her to shutter against me. "But it seems when a homosexual, like myself, is born into a generation the masculine side is extremely prominent, if not stronger than in the heterosexual members of the line. Which is why," I pulled her hips against mine and started up at her. "It turns me on more when you treat me a certain way. I like feeling strong, in control, not to say that you can't take the wheel when you want something from me." I added with a quick kiss. "You can be a sexy beast whenever you feel the need; I think its fuckin' hot." She blushed deeply and I chuckled, moving one of my hands up to finger the band of her panties.

She gasped and arched her back, her arousal now thick and sweet as it tantalized my senses. She was so new to all this and I could tell. The uncertainty behind her actions, the slight embarrassment etched into her face, it was clear she hasn't been this close to anyone before. It was also clear she desperately wanted to be. She wanted to feel the connection only felt between lovers, she wanted it so badly. Badly enough she would push herself past her comfort zone, I thought as my hands drifted away from her body. Bella was so hungry with lust she won't see until it's too late that she wasn't ready. She looked disappointed I stopped but I knew deep down she would appreciate me waiting until both her mind and body came to an agreement.

I gave her the lopsided smile she loved so much and I knew she understood. She reluctantly climbed off of me and went off into the kitchen and I followed suit. I cleaned up the broken glass as she nuked the leftover breakfast Cujo left me, and made sure I inhaled it all because he told her I didn't eat enough. Damn that motherfucker, making me look like I don't take care of myself! She seemed surprised as I cleaned my platter spotless and tossed it into the sink, then I noticed her eyes wander to the counter where I mangled it the day after we first met and I woke up from another blackout. "What happened?" She asked, tracing her fingers over the spider silk thin cracks across the surface.

I could've easily said I dropped something on it, that I slipped and grabbed it to break a fall. But I could tell she already saw the flash of betrayal before I could hide it from her. I traced the cracks as well, curling my fingers into a tight fist before releasing it with a sigh. "I got angry." I said evenly, forcing myself not to meet her gaze. I didn't want to see her reaction, let alone my face reflected in her eyes. "Kyle came by one day and said something that lit my fuse, and my poor counter paid the price." I said with a quirky grin, trying to lighten the mood I created. I knew she didn't buy it, but she didn't push the issue further. Inside I breathed a bit easier, thankful that she wasn't the kind to be persistent.

We stayed in content silence for a while afterwards. Occasionally she'd touch me or send gentle glances my way, but neither of us broke the quiet that settled over us. She enjoyed it, that I knew. I could tell by the way she put her guard down and relaxed her body as she leaned into me. It was a sign of trust, complete and unwavering. I leaned into the crook of the counter and let her body fall further into mine as she sighed deeply. I pressed my face into her hair, savoring the sweet, delicate flowery scent it gave off. I closed my eyes and held Bella closer, imprinting this moment and all its specifics into a special place in the back of my mind. I felt her sigh and turn in my backwards embrace, pressing close as if to merge with me. Her lips pressed a single kiss to my neck and I surprised myself as I relaxed, instead of feeling a surge of arousal run through me.

"I don't think I've ever had a moment this…"

"Serene? Perfect?" I tried adding.

She laughed softly, the sound vibrating gently against my throat. "I don't think there are any words that can accurately describe it." I nodded in agreement, already feeling my muscles begin to tense as this pause in our lives came to a close. I wanted it to last longer, just for a while. And if it could I'd like it to last forever. Just us, never worrying, never wondering…

I breathed in Bella's scent again and suggested we go for a walk. She agreed, and we got dressed and set out. We didn't hold hands as we walked, though I'd brush mine against hers every now and again. I didn't want anyone who knew us to cause any trouble, but I also didn't want to make her think I was afraid of being public about us. Megan was my drive to be open and honest with Bella and everyone, because I don't make the same mistake twice. I wasn't about to hide again, to go into the dark and pray I wasn't alone there. Bella was the unwavering light that was our newfound relationship, and I would fight the world to keep it from flickering out. No one would take her away, supernatural or otherwise. Bella was mine. She was my life, my soul, everything I couldn't be.

The afternoon sun shone over us and Bella closed her eyes, breathing in the warmth of the rays as a cool breeze rushed past us. "This is so strange." I heard her mumble. She stopped at a corner and looked down at her feet, her eyes lost in deep thought.

"What's strange?" I asked her.

She didn't look up as she spoke, but we continued walking. "Just…I don't know…everything I guess. It all happened so fast…I don't know what to make of it." I pulled her close to my side, pulling the hat I tossed on down to cover my face. "Well why don't you tell me what's diggin' at ya, maybe I can help out." She leaned into me and fiddled with the zipper of her coat, and I could feel the confusion roll off of her.

"Everything about this, about us, feels so natural. But I can't help feeling like this is all foreign to me. I never would've thought I'd end up being gay…I've never had any feelings for another woman before, then you come along and…" I heard her breath catch and to my surprise she started crying.

"Oh fuck, Bells!"

With alarmed speed I got us into the nearest alleyway and clutched her to my chest, smoothing down her hair and whispering calming words into her ear. She continued to speak though her quite sobs, her words steady despite the overwhelming emotions leaving her. "This is just so radically different than when I was with Edward. He was so distant and self-centered, and he wouldn't even try to work things out with me sometimes. He'd have all these rules and lines laid out for us; he'd always push me away whenever I got too close…"

She pushed away enough so I could look at her face, which was already tearing streaked. My heart clenched at the sight of it, her looking so vulnerable and broken. I leaned in to kiss away the few remaining tears that still clung to her cheeks and after she calmed down a bit, pushed me to a distance so she could speak again. "You're so different from him." She said. "He was an old world charmer, and he treated himself like he was the most revolting thing to walk this Earth. But he was so beautiful in every way and he just wouldn't see it. It frustrated me because I could never get him to see the man I saw, and I was actually willing to let him turn me so I could show him there was one person who could see past the wall he threw up to deflect everyone. I don't have to do that with you." Her fingers touched my face, tracing every scar she found with a gentle touch I wasn't familiar with. I felt her warmth seep into those cracks, sinking straight to the beast within me, making her sigh curl up beneath the blanket that now covered her.

"You're so strong, so very strong…" Her lips touched mine, but her hands fell away as if she didn't want to touch me. "You're too strong. I don't know what to do with someone like you, someone who's so open and understanding…I just don't know how to handle it."

I looked at her, hard but soft. I couldn't take these words she was speaking, and I was going to set it straight how I worked so she got it. "Look Bells, I know this is all so sudden, and you're confused and scared between this and everything else that's been going on. But you need to understand right now that I'll do whatever it takes to make this work, and I mean it. If being with another woman scares you I'll tone it down…" I took a step back, but made sure not to go too far. "But also you need to not push yourself and think I can't wait for you, because I can. I'm more than willing to help you figure all this out Bella. The kissing and touching, it all can wait. You don't need to prove a damn thing to me, I'll go as slow as we need to make you feel comfortable. All I ever wanted really was just for you to recognize me as your mate…"

I touched her face suddenly, worried that already something was going wrong. Damn it, I should've been more vigilant! I saw too late I was pushing the boundaries and that I was going too far. I should've taken caution when we started out and I didn't, and Bella breaking down was the price I paid. I searched her face, trying franticly to find that look, that recognition of our connection.

"You do see me as your mate…right?"

Her brown eyes widened, as if shocked I would say something like that. "Of course I do!" She grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her, kissing me hard enough to send my mind reeling. "Don't ever think that I don't!" She suddenly let go of me, embarrassment staining her cheeks. "I-I…I'm just not used to these feelings, that's all." I smirked and grabbed her fingers, leading her back out into the sun drenched streets. "Perfectly understandable," I told her. "Considering I'm your first woman and your my first human." Her eyebrows shot straight up in the air, as if she didn't quite believe it. "Surely I'm not the only human." She said, moving her pace to match my stride.

"Nope, your my one and only."

"I guess we have a lot to learn about each other then, don't we?"

I chuckled and laced my fingers behind my head, allowing my face to soak in the rays. "We know a good deal already."

"Like how you think pointy ears are a turn on?"

"You better not tell anyone I said that."

She grinned devilishly and took a few steps backwards. "I'll go back to your building right now and tell Quinn, I can tell he's the gossiping type." I turned quickly on my heel and growled playfully at her. "I'd like to see you try." I challenged her. She took off down the street with me on trailing close behind, laughing hysterically when I drew too close. I chased her for what seemed like hours, letting her gain ground before I jumped her around a corner. I had to admit she was hard to tire, and when we finally stopped we both collapsed on the nearest set of steps, sweating and panting like animals. We laughed through our breathlessness, knowing we could still keep our relationship intact even without the hot and heavy shit we both obviously craved. I felt like a brand new Shifter when I was with her, like a kid hanging out with a best friend. But I guess that's the way it should be, we were not only mates, we were friends. We trusted one another; we could laugh, cry, and scream at each other and know it only brought us closer.

I laid my head in her lap, her fingers absentmindedly playing with my dreads. We let the sun set on this marvelous day before we both decided it was time to head home. I helped her gather her things and I saw her off, although even when she left and I was getting ready to hit the sack she called, and we spent most of the night talking, until eventually she fell asleep, and I drifted off with her steady breathing reminding me I would never know the pain of loneliness again.

So? Bad, good, how did i do? write in and let me know, because as ive stated its my job as a writer to keep my readers satisfied! Oh and a shoutout to Amber Talamaca for the most thought provoking review i've gotten yet, and for calling Edward Douchward, which made me laugh so hard i actually cried. Your questions will be answered, but im afraid it will span quite a few chapters. I'm so glad i have loyal followers to this story, without you guys Warren would still be in a journal in my desk without a story to call home, so i thank you all for this wonderful expericence you've given me. so until next time my lovelies, keep this story thiving!


	19. Home is where the Heart is

Welcome back my lovlies! If i took too long i appologize, hopefully this chapter is long enough to curb your cravings! just to clarify, i do not own Twilight, it belongs to Stephine Meyer...but do own my badass, sexy beast OC Warren Lee Walker ;) don't let me keep yout long, i'm sure i've made you wait long enough lol enjoy chapter 19 everyone!

Warren's P.O.V.

School was such a bore; I don't even see why I bothered going. I knew all the things humans did, even more so since I absorbed information like a damn sponge. So I found it especially amusing when teachers found me nodding off and tried to embarrass me by making me recite something, and then I turned the tables on them by repeating back the lesson they were teaching word for word. Classmates would giggle, said teacher would then be unable to retaliate and I would go back to ignoring the lesson without further interruption.

Because really, when you were lucky enough to have your mate in pretty much all your classes there's nothing else you'd rather pay attention to.

It was fascinating, the way Bella acted in school. She threw herself into each lesson; though I could easily tell her mind was fighting to concentrate on what she was taking notes on. I took the liberty to be an ass and distract her in the best ways I was capable of, running my fingers across her neck, rubbing my boot up and down her leg, giving her sultry glances whenever our eyes caught.

Oh yeah, I said I'd back off but I didn't say a thing about messing with her when an opportunity presented itself. She took it all in stride, which was good on my part.

It was the last period of the day, and I was sitting across from her in our shared study hall. Bella was working on some project for some class and I was drawing something in my sketch pad. I wasn't even thinking about what I was drawing and smirked when I saw I was recreating Bella splayed out on my bed, shirt torn open, her face flushed in apparent arousal. She happened to glance at me and tried craning over to take a look, and I snapped my pad shut before she saw it.

"What, I'm not allowed to look at your drawings?"

"Let's just say if you looked you would remember a rather 'pleasant' memory." I growled, brushing my fingertips against her thigh. The same blush rose in her cheeks as she smiled sheepishly.

"You miss me yet?"

She blushed harder and started to pack up her things. "You're such a jerk Warren."

"Why?"

"You know I miss you."

I smiled and took her bag as we got up from our seats. "Hey I gotta check in now and again." The bell rung and we walked out of the building and to my jeep, which we now started to share for our drives to school after my weeks in insisting it for her own protection. The air was chilly and I pulled her close to my side, rubbing her arm as we made our way across the parking lot. She leaned into me, taking in my body heat and enjoying the close proximity. "You're so warm." She commented. "Almost like the Wolves."

"Nice observation Bells, you're learning quick."

I helped her into my car and dashed around to start it up, blasting the heat to thaw her off. A shadow at the corner of my eye made my head snap around, only to relax my already tense muscles when I saw a fellow Shifter around the building. I gave him a nod and looked back at Bella; she already seemed to know I was being summoned again. It was an almost daily occurrence, and she hated it just as much as I did. These Runners coming to escort me back to the Pride camps kept us apart for hours, sometimes even days, and I knew it killed her whenever I left and she couldn't come with me. "They need you again?" She almost whined. "We haven't spent any time together in weeks. Can't it wait?" I sighed and looked back at the young Runner, holding up a closed fist to him, indicating I wanted to know the status if his message. He held up four fingers, and then touched a fist to the open palm. It was a level four summons, which meant I was needed immediately but there was little to no danger. The closed fist touching an open palm meant it was combat related. I shook my head at her. "They need me for another tactical review."

I snarled and waved him over, and he came quickly. He was young, just a few years shy of Bella's age. A newbie, though he fell right into place as a Runner. Just like most Shifters in my ex Pride he was dark skinned, golden eyed, and built for speed. However I could tell talking to me put him on edge, he was wary. As he should be, he probably heard from the other Runners back at camp how I felt about these damn summonings. "Tell Gabe I'll be there shortly, I gotta situate Bella and arrange for protective detail. This better not take long." I added with a growl. "This is the fourth time this week already, and I've been away for two full days and a half. Make sure he knows that." He nodded and left quickly. I got into the jeep and slammed the door, resting my forehead against the steering wheel. "Fucking bullshit." I snarled again. "I hate not having you in my sight, they all fucking know that!" I heard her fasten her seatbelt and sigh.

"Then don't leave me. Take me with you this time."

I snapped my head up at her, she was totally serious. Her eyes were solid with her proposal, and it didn't look like it would change. We'll see about that.

"Oh no, I am not taking you into the Pride camps. It's not safe for a human." She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes; she was getting pissed at me. Boy I loved that look, it was crazy sexy. "I'm not doing this again Warren, your taking me with you." I snorted, preparing to pull out of the lot. "Bells you're going home. End of story." I didn't get more than two feet when she suddenly undid her buckle and swung over so she was straddling my lap. I jerked forward when the sudden movement caused me to step on the breaks. "You're taking me with you Warren Walker."

"Bells get back in your seat." I tried to demand of her, though my voice shook. I tried to keep myself as calm as possible as her hands twisted themselves in my dreads. Her lips twisting into a devilish smile, something I found incredibly dangerous.

"No."

She tugged my hair gently, pressing herself closer to my already trembling body. "Not until you agree." I pressed my lips together tightly, unwilling to comply. I steeled my jaw and kept my hands firmly at my sides, she wasn't winning me over again. I was a Shifter, I had control. I had persistence. Most of all I was fucking stubborn, being a Walker that's a given.

However, my imprint was just as stubborn as I was.

"Warren," She murmured, leaning close to my ear. "I'm not spending another night alone in my bed." She released my hair and traced her fingers down my throat, down my chest, till she reached the hem of my Henley shirt and snuck her hands under it. I sucked in my breath as her fingertips traced small patterns on my stomach and ribs, she's never touched me before, it was almost unbearable. "I'm not going another day without hearing your voice." She nuzzled my face gently, making my inner beast purr, making me want to throw Bella in the back seat and tear her clothes off again. "I'm going with you Warren, end of story." She repeated my last statement, solidifying it with a searing kiss on my lips. "Understand me?"

"Yes ma'am." I huffed, shuttering uncontrollably under her flitting fingers. I grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from me, holding them tightly to her chest. "Now get off before I repeat last month's performance." She smiled, satisfied and crawled back to her seat. "I knew you would see things my way." She said as she secured her seatbelt.

"Yeah." I grumbled irritably. "Yeah, sure. Seduction by my evil girlfriend had nothing to do with it." _And she's the one who wanted to slow down, what a fuckin' crock! _I thought to myself with a scoff.

"What's so funny?" She asked me.

I continued smirking. "Nothing."

I kept driving and eventually steered off onto a back road. Well, it wasn't a back road really, it was more of a Shifter-made dirt path that was bumpy as hell and made the jeep feel like it was gonna flip over any second. I could sense Bella's distress as I continued our slow trek up the inclining slope, and reached over to take her stiff hand and rub gentle circles on it. "Relax Bells, we're almost there." She nodded, but still seemed anxious. After a few more miles of torture I couldn't take it anymore and pulled off the path. I hid the car under a large pine with hanging braches and cut the engine. Jumping out quickly I went over to the other side, helping a rather white faced Bella out of my jeep. She stumbled into my arms, trembling and trying to control her breathing.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

I held her close to me, wishing now I hadn't given in and brought her with me. "You sure about this Bells, you don't have to come. I can have a Hunter bring you back home." She shook her head furiously, looking up at me with hard eyes. "No. I'm going; I'm your mate I should be there for you. You're always there for me…"

"Bells if this is about proving something-"

"It's not!" She stated. "I just can't be left out of the loop again. Last time something like this happened no one told me a damn thing! It was just safe houses and constant surveillance; no one said anything to me! I hated it!"

My eyes widened, but softened just quickly. She was talking about her ex, I could tell by the tears that started to well in her eyes. That look was all too familiar to me. Her hands fisted my shirt tightly and her face twisted up, trying to contain emotions she didn't want me to see.

"Bells, I know you can't stand being treated like fragile cargo." I told her gently, pulling her back into my embrace. She didn't resist. "But you're human and we are dealing with something that's not. Try and understand that. I don't know what this Edward guy did when you were with him," I felt her flinch against me at his name, though I kept talking. "But we Shifters are a lot different than vampires. We run in packs, no matter how small. And the thing about packs is that everyone knows what's going on, even plans are modified and spread around to the rest of the members after being reviewed. We do this for one reason, to make sure if the camps are ever under attack everyone knows what to do. Every man, woman, child, and Elder is prepared and able to fight or flee when danger approaches." My hands rubbed soothing circles on her back, my nose gently nudging at her neck and hairline. My animal instincts were overriding me again, my mate was upset and I was being more physical to show her my support. She didn't seem to mind and welcomed my affection openly, closing her eyes and sighing softly into my chest.

I cupped her chin and tilted her up to face me, then leaned down and kissed her. It was slow, deliberate. I was careful to move in such a way that Bella would relax into the kiss, give into the simple action and be reassured that my words were true. "You're a part of the Pride now Bells, you ask and you will be told everything they tell me. It's the way things work in my world." I didn't tell her that technically I wasn't supposed to be doing the things I doing currently. I was a loner, and loners weren't really allowed to Council meetings and train new recruits. But I kept this to myself, it wasn't important. No one complained, and those that did learn to keep their traps shut or face my wrath directly. I kissed her again and kept her close for a moment before pulling back, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck and arms prickle suddenly. My muscles clenched and I pulled Bella to me, a low growl humming deep in my chest.

"What is it?" She whispered against neck, knowing something was wrong.

"We got company, just stay close to me."

Some brush behind me shuttered and I turned quickly to face it, pushing Bella behind me as three Shifters broke through the clustered foliage. All were Panthers, but that didn't stop the warning hiss that left my lips. "Whoever's captain phase and identify yourself, now." I commanded coolly. Sam had told me once that after he phased he was able to command his Pack with something called the Call of the Alpha, or some shit like that. I had that too, but it didn't command, it made sure whoever was hearing it knew what kind of Shifter they were dealing with.

The largest of the trio stepped forward and in one gracious motion was a man kneeling on the Earth before me, his broad build and blond cropped hair told me he was a soldier, most likely a Field Charger. He rose up to his full height and saluted me. "Ethan Xavier, Captain of squad Four. Nice to see you around these parts again Chief Walker, it's been awhile." The name he called me sounded familiar but I couldn't really recall, but I just pushed it away and stood at attention to him. "At ease Ethan, you guys too." He relaxed his stance and soon the other two shifted over and joined him, two men, one red head the other dyed an electric blue. "It has been quite some time hasn't it?" I mused, looking at all three of them. They each pulled on black shorts, which must be new. When I was Pride Alpha it was either you stayed nude or you fashioned something outta some kill's hide. "Last time I saw you three you were cubs, just getting ready to join the Guards. Now look at you all!" I went over and head locked one and rubbed my knuckles across the top of Ethan's head, then grabbed another and giving him a slight shake. "You're practically bigger than me!" We all laughed and it took me a minute to realize Bella was watching us with confusion, unsure of how to act though she smiled softly. I punched the blue haired Shifter playfully on the arm and went back to her, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

"Sorry babe got caught up." She shook her head, a knowing smile replacing her out of place smirk. "You're so easily distracted." I winked at her and lead her over to the trio, introducing each to her. "The blond is Ethan, red head is Ricky, and the shockingly blue guy is Orin, they were trouble makers back when I was Alpha, but they always were willing to sit down and learn from me." They each greeted her warmly, holding out large hands for her to take. She shook each one and greeted back, though leaning into me slightly all the while. She was a little put off by their size but she held her own. I put my arm around her and gave her a reassuring squeeze before looking at the squad again.

"Guys this is my mate, Bella. She's human so no rough housing with her unless you want your necks snapped by me, is that clear?" Upon hearing the seriousness of my tone they all stood straight as poles, hands clasped tightly behind backs and eyes all on me. "Yes Chief!" They called back. Bella giggled and wrapped her arms around me. "Why do they call you Chief instead of Ma'am?" She asked.

I smirked. "For some odd reason, no one really thought female pronouns fit, so Chief was something the Soldiers came up with as a universal term when talking about or to me." She smiled, her eyes sparkling in amusement. She enjoyed these little tidbits of myself she got from others who know me. It gave her insight on the things about me that I didn't even know existed. They trio relaxed and offered to escort us to the camps. I allowed it, and together we all packed back into my jeep, me sitting with Bella in my lap, Orin next to us, Ricky standing on the passenger seat to play telescope out the sun roof, and Ethan at the wheel. I had to admit he was a bit smoother then I was driving up the rough incline, though i couldn't really complain since Bella was this close to me. Besides her jumping me in the car earlier and the touches we stole in school, we haven't really had any moments alone together since I promised her I'd tone down my advances. This irked the both of us, but pissed me off more since Bella needed me there with her, i was the only one who could calm her night terrors, something that flared up still and got worse, according to Kyle, while I was gone. I snuck the tips of my fingers under the hem of her shirt, resting them against the soft, smooth flesh of her stomach. I didn't move to do anything else; I just rested my fingers against her skin. Any sort of touch from me seemed to calm her, slowing her heart rate and evening out her breathing. She moved to sit sideways in my lap to rest her head in the crook of my neck, her hands reaching for one of mine to play with my fingers.

"What happens when we get there?" She asked, quite enough for only me to hear.

"Dun know." I mumbled. "I might have to leave you with a Guard; the Council is pretty strict with their meetings. I'm surprised they let a loner partake in the planning."

"I can help."

"You've done enough Bells." I pulled her hands up and kissed each individual finger, lingering my lips a little longer than necessary before lowering them back to her lap. "I don't want you to overdo it; I know it kills you to talk about it."

"It doesn't hurt so much anymore..." She snuggled closer into me, pressing a gentle kiss into my throat. "You're the only one that matters to me now."

I was shocked a moment, my body going slightly stiff. It took me a minute to realize I was biting my tongue, why I was came just a second later.

I was going to say I loved her, just flat out.

Right there I was ready to say it, the moment was so perfect, everything was just right, but I stopped myself. It was too early; she wasn't ready to hear it. But i was. I wanted to say it, to voice it and make it real. I love Bella. I love her with every fiber of my being, every beat of my heart, every breath I took. I lived for the soul purpose of this one human. She was my life, my only life. She wasn't just an imprint, or a mate, she was my everything. She was mine, and I was hers. So simple, yet so very complex.

Did Bella know this? Did she know how deeply I felt for her? It seemed so...but did she even understand it? After all, Shifter, Human relationships weren't all that common. And when they were it took so long for the human to sense the connection, to even accept the fact that a supernatural being was forever connected to them took even longer. Though Bella, she just took hold of the fact almost instantly. I knew she questioned and felt uneasy at times, she was so willing to work past it though. To see past me, everything I was and everything I have become...it seemed so unreal. How I ever managed to find her...

Why was I even thinking this? We're mates. Plain and simple. No need to make it more difficult than it already is.

We arrived to a plateaued area a half hour later. I carried Bella out of the car bridal style before touching her feet to the ground, and watched as she took in the sights with wide eyes. Tents, hundreds of them were organized in clusters all over the place. In the heart of it was the largest tent, the HQ of this site. Shifters roamed around in both human and animal skins, and cubs leapt and pounced and tumbled as we came closer. Bella smiled at the sight, and laughed when a group of them came up and jumped me. I landed to the ground with a heavy thud and wrestled with the cubs a bit, letting them claw and bite at me playfully as I growled in encouragement. They needed to be able to act on their instincts and hone in on their natural skills. Play fighting was something I always encouraged when I was Alpha. I even allowed them to pounce me when they saw me walking around the Pride grounds. One cub got a hold on my neck and started tugging, making Bella gasp and reach to help me. I smiled and waved her off, pressing a thumb and index finger into the joints connecting the kid's jaw to his skull. His hold slackened and i easily dislodged him from me. His eyes were wide as I looked down on him, his gaze flitting between me and the arm that held his jaw open.

"Throat shots aren't very nice." I told him gently. "Especially to the Alpha's sister." I released my hold but his mouth stayed open. "Sorry, I get excited sometimes." He said, lowering his head in shame. I chuckled and tilted it back up. "Don't apologize. I was the same way when i was your age, it just means you have a lot of power inside you." I told him, poking him in the chest lightly. His eyes sparked, shining brightly with child-like joy. "Really? You think so?" I flashed him a toothy grin, pulling him up and gathering his play mates around me. "Yeah, you all got it. You're Shifters after all! A proud and magnificent race. We all have a fire in us that makes us invincible. We can take on any challenge and be whoever we choose to become, no one can control us unwillingly. Who knows who they are gonna be when they grow up?"

"A soldier!"

"A Healer!"

"A musician!"

"A Captain, like my dad!"

The kid I had a hold of smiled brightly. "I'm gonna be Alpha one day!"

I laughed and ruffled all their heads.

"That's all well and good, but you gotta pass a test before you even _think _about joining those squads."

They all gave me confused looks, glancing at each other as if one of them might have a clue on what the hell I was talkin about. I chuckled again and crouched before them, gesturing them to come closer. "There's a test that all cubs have to pass in order to become adults." I whispered to them. "It's super hard, and only a few ever passed it."

Their eyes widened, jaws falling open in anticipation. They all bounced on their feet, wanting badly to know what they had to do to become like the Shifters they saw roaming around the camps. I looked from side to side and they leaned closer, I could even feel Bella inch closer behind me to hear what I have to say. "All you have to do to pass this test is…"I sucked in a lung full of air, leaned back and let out a mighty roar that would make even a lion cringe. The cubs fell back and squealed, but were otherwise unphased by my ear shattering roar.

"Now, show me what ya got!"

They all laughed and got back into fighting stances, and as a kind of round each gave me their best shots. They were good, but not half as powerful as mine. Not yet anyways. I looked behind me at Bella, who was laughing while she covered her ears, her eyes sparkling with the beautiful laughter she produced. "You all pass!" I stated to them, rising back to my full height. "There's no way you can't reach your goals now. With a roar like that no one can tell you no." A woman jogged up and rounded up the wild bunch, but not before catching sight of me and freezing. "Warren?" I nodded and she came up to hug me. "Oh Gods! It's so lovely to see you around these parts, it's been ages!" I hugged her back. "It's only been a few years though, is Gabe really that bad?" I chuckled. She looked at me strangely for a moment, then shook her head and smiled gently. "He's great; it's just nice to see you again that's all... I hope you come around more often." With that she gathered the cubs and chased them back to the camp, with all of them roaring as loudly as they could at each other and waving back at me.

Bella came up next to me and took my hand as we continued our trek down to the path. "So, is this the Pride Grounds?" She asked me. "No," I said, touching the hand of a passing Elder male respectfully as he reached for me. "This is a sister camp. There are several of them outside the main Pride grounds. It's my father's design, the Pride is located at the center, and there are other, smaller cluster camps located around it full of Scouts, Hunters, and Field Chargers. Not only does this provide extra protection, it also leaves room for expansion just in case any passing Shifters need a place to crash. In some cases we even have new members join this way. We have to check in at HQ before we go into the Pride grounds though, it's for precaution." I added as we approached the largest tent. I held the flap open as we entered, letting her walk in first before I quickly reattaching myself back to her side.

A large man sauntered towards us, giving Bella a steady gaze before looking at me. "I thought the arrangement was you came alone Warren." He told me, glancing back at Bella as he did so. I hardened my own gaze and held her closer, letting a short growl mix with my next words, warning him he was treading on thin ice. "Change of plans." I stated flatly. "My mate_ is_ joining me at this meeting. I'm sure Gabriel won't mind. Bella's the one who gave us the Intel, if anything she has the same clearance I do." His eyes flashed for a moment but he huffed and went over towards a table, were a hawk was perched. He scribbled something onto a sheet of parchment and rolled it up, securing it to the bird's leg before sending it off through an opening through the tent's ceiling. He eyed me for a long while before breaking away and leaving the tent. It was then that I heard Bella release a breath she was holding, and that she was trembling slightly against me. I turned her to face me and kissed her forehead tenderly, letting my hands rub up and down her arms to calm her. "Please don't let him get to you." I mumbled to her. "It's his job to be a fuckin prick-" My sentence dropped off when I noticed the rage burning in her eyes. Her lips were pressed tightly together, forming a crisp line that seemed to curtail a string of words she'd regret saying. I could now smell the annoyance and anger on her, she wasn't scared, oh no. She was _royally_ pissed.

"A prick? Prick doesn't even begin to describe him!" She seethed. "He had no right to act that way!" I laughed and kissed her angry mouth, loving the strong taste it left on my lips. Like a great liquor, or dark chocolate. Her lips left a soft, warm tingle when I kissed them; they tasted sweet with just a touch of bitter for bite. This girl was just full of surprises and boy, did they make me want to beg for more. "He didn't," I said. "Especially not to my girl. But he was just following orders." She narrowed her eyes at me, crossing her arms so tightly around her chest that her breasts pushed up, making my eyes falter just a little. "You're not defending him, are you?" she asked, gazing at me with that oh so sexy stare of hers. A smirk tugged at my lips as I pulled her close to me, running my fingers along her spine. She shivered against me and a light moan left her. "Did I ever mention your so fuckin cute when you're mad?" She tried pushing away from me as her cheeks flared up. "Don't change the subject Warren!" My smirk turned into a devious grin as l leaned into her, teasing her with the intimacy before letting her go.

"You're such a jerk." She breathed harshly, which only made me laugh again.

"Oh you love it, don't lie!" I said as she went to walk away.

I snatched her wrist and pulled her back to me, nuzzling the back of her neck as a soft purr emitted from my chest. "Admit it Bells." I pressed my lips to the nape of her neck, hearing her sigh in content as she leaned into me. "That you're a jerk?" She said teasingly. "Then yes, I admit it." I only chuckled again as she turned in my arms. But before anything else could take place the hawk returned, and I took the liberty of retrieving the message myself. I stroked the fellow predator, taking the small scroll it carried and rolling it out on the table. I recognized the scratch font of my bother immediately; he never could learn to glide the quill across the parchment. I smiled to myself and read it aloud to Bella, after scanning it first of course.

"The Alpha and Council would be honored to have Isabella Swan attend the meeting, allow her immediate access."

I saw her grin and leaned over to kiss her again. "Welcome to the Pride baby." We went out to meet back with Xavier and the others before we continued on farther into the woods. With Bella on a Shifter's back it didn't take us but a few short minutes to reach the Pride Grounds. I had the team pause on top of a hill so she could absorb the sights, and seeing the look on her face was priceless. I bet she expected more tents, but here there were elaborate tree homes above and semi underground based dwellings bellow. There were more Shifters milling around here, but it was an organized type of chaos, like a sort of ant colony. Her eyes grew wide as she drank it all in, the mixture of ancient and modern civilization, the perfect blend of nature and technology. The beauty and functionality of the Pride Grounds could not be matched, it was the perfect paradise…and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it while I was gone.

I closed my eyes and breathed in the clean air, feeling the soft vibrations of the Shifters around us. It felt like coming home. This was a place where Shifters didn't have to hide who they were; they could be as free as they very damn well pleased. My joints ached with the yearning to phase and strut around, though I resisted the pull, and instead helped Bella off her ride and lead her down into the heart and soul of any Clan. Music and laughter filled the air, along with mouthwatering smells that drifted in from nearby cooking fires. The sound of smiths and weavers was steady and strong like a drum circle. Women sang and men hummed along to folk songs and lullabies from long ago. Girls hid behind trunks and buildings, looking on with shy eyes as we passed. Daring boys leapt from branch to branch above us, hollering war worthy cries. More children chased and hissed each other, weaving between Beasts and Walkers alike as they played. A baby cried but was soon rocked back to sleep by its loving mother's arms.

All these sounds, smells, tastes and touches…all of it felt so familiar and wholesome. It filled me up yet made me light. My name was called several times as we walked by, some followed by a warrior's sign. Bella surprisingly was calm, like this was a normal walk down a friendly human neighborhood. She even greeted those who acknowledged her with that amazing, dazzling smile of hers.

And to think, I was actually worried for her. I should've known better.

Eventually all that walking led us to a fucking huge tree, and by huge, I mean its trunk was as wide as a normal sized human house. It was designed that way apparently, because it seriously looked like one of those stupid cookie making elf tree factories, minus the elves…and the bakery…and the cookies. But it did have windows and doors and such. I sensed the intimidation Bella felt as we closed in, but before we got near enough the door flew open and out lumbered my big brother, all smiles and laughs.

"So, this is the woman that finally broke my sister!"

To my shock and delight he scooped Bella up in his large arms and swung her back and forth in his famous bear hug. She laughed, again surprising me by taking Gabe's first impression well.

"Jeez Gabe you'll break her if you don't stop!" I warned him. He gasped and put her down gently, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry about that." Bella's laugh continued to ring around us, like a breeze blowing through finely crafted wind chimes. "It's alright, I fairly enjoyed it." Gabe stuck out his hand, which practically swallowed Bella's as she slipped her small hand into it. "I'm Gabriel Lee Walker. The older brother to Warren lee Walker, eldest cub to Lisa and Hunter Lee Walker, and Alpha of this fine Panther Pride, but you can just call me Gabe. No, seriously don't I hate when someone uses Gabriel. I ain't no damn angel." He had in a deep tone, before instantly brightening up again.

"Well I'm Isabella Marie Swan. I'm the only daughter of Charlie Swan and Renee Dwyer, step-daughter to Phil Dwyer, and mate to Warren Lee Walker, but you can just call me Bella. I just hate being called Isabella."

Gabe smile grew bigger and he clasped my shoulder, shaking me slightly. "She's a keeper Slugger." He commented. "The sugar to your spice, the jelly to your peanut butter, the pepper to your salt, the catnip to your cat, the-ow!" I dug my fist out of his ribcage, shaking my hand out as I did do. Fuck it hurt to hit him, but he was being an ass! "Just let us into the damn meeting already bro, we've been hiking for fuckin hours!" He held his hands up in defense. "Okay! Jeez, you're such a kill joy girl. Bella you better work on that shit!"

She giggled and I took her hand again, leading her in as Gabe held the door for us. This meeting was going to be such a fuckin pain, but having Bella there automatically made it more bearable. Just her being by my side kept me cool and level headed, her inputs were even better than the ones thrown onto the table by the Council. She was a natural diplomat, though I worried about how much she could exactly handle. But after all she's shown me of her endurance and courage today, I really shouldn't be surprised on her new found capabilities. Like I said, she was definitely stronger than a Shifter in some aspects.

However I couldn't shake the chill that kept running through me throughout the duration of the meeting, my skin prickling with a sudden change in atmosphere. Something was wrong, I just didn't know what. I tried to hide it from her, but Gabe caught it, and made a slight nod to show he felt it too. What it was I couldn't exactly pinpoint other than trouble was brewing. What kind of trouble I felt could be one of many things. I hated that, the feeling of not knowing, not being correctly prepared for something…that kind of shit put me on edge, made me lose my focus. Bella squeezed my hand, tossing me a soft smile, bringing my reeling mind back into the game, back to what really mattered now. I smiled back and let the feeling pass. I'd deal with it later, one thing at a time. Right now I was planning for a battle. Everything else I'd deal with as it came to me.

alright, let me have it! how was this chapter, any confusion, questions, predictions? if there is anything review, especially if its nice things! the more reviews i get the more modivation i have to fuel my Muses (esentually, more positive reviews = faster updates) and also, just to shake things up, i am taking oneshot requests now. what does that mean? it means if i skip a time period in this fanfic ill write a oneshot (ex: skiping Halloween = fantasy oneshot) to fill the void, or a diffrent story all together (ex: soldier Warren and nurse Bella oneshot, or a day at the beach oneshot), because i've noticed you all seem to like Warren and this paring so much, i figured i'd see if i could expand a bit on her character. and it doesnt even have to be for this story! if you want a oneshot of any kind feel free to PM me with details, and i'll write a story of your choosing and post it as quickly as i can find the time to write it (note: oneshots dont take long, unless you like the really, really long ones...) so in closing, review, request, and let yourself be heard! i love hearing from you all, its because of you A Love so Scarred is even here! so until next time my loyal readers, keep up the amazing support!


	20. Breaking from Reality

I do not own Twilight, it belongs to Stephine Meyer...but i do however own my sexy beast Warren Walker ;) and most of the plot line

Hello again my faithful lovlies! i won't keep you long this time, i rushed my ass off to get this posted so i hope it didn't come off sloppy :/ but anyways, enough chitchat. go enjoy chapter 20!

_I'm walking through a glass maze. I reach my hand out to touch the smooth surfaces, wondering why the hell I'm even here. My heavy boots echo loudly around the empty, dark abyss outside the walls, bouncing off the endless night and came back louder than when they left me. I know where I'm going, I haven't hit a dead end, but then again my destination is unclear to me._

_I hear a girl scream in the distance, chilling, blood curdling. _

_I'm running now, swiftly navigating through the maze, which has now turned from glass to mirrors, distorting my image into a monstrous mass I didn't recognize. _

_A fun house of horrors, I thought to myself._

_I chanced a glance at the reflections, gasping when they snarled and whipped wickedly clawed hands out at me. I keep running trying to find the sound again, to save the girl that needs my help._

_My heart pounds furiously in my chest. Sweat rolls off in beads from my face, shattering like glass as they hit the ground. _

"_Warren!" I hear the woman scream. "Help me!"_

"_Hold on!" I call to her desperately, tripping but quickly finding my footing again. "Just hold on!"_

_I eventually come came to a halt at a glass wall, an endless field of fog swirled around the other side. A dark silhouette suddenly appeared as the fog started to dissipate, and I realized it was the girl who was calling for me. I banged on the glass, trying to get her attention._

"_Hey!" I screamed at her. "I'm over here! Damn it, this way!"_

_She caught sight of me and smiled in relief, darting for the wall and placing her palms against it. As the fog cleared further my jaw dropped as the identity of the girl was relieved to me._

_It was Bella._

"_Bells, how the fuck did you get there?" I yelled through the glass._

"_I don't know!" She answered. "Something's chasing me!" _

_Damn it! _

_She looked around wildly, as if the thing was nearby. "Bells! Bells look at me!" she whipped her head back around to me, her brown eyes wide and fearful. "Help me find a way in! There has to be a way in there!" She nodded and we jogged side by side up and down the wall but each way seemed to stretch on forever. I was snarling by this time, my body shaking with the anger of being unable to get to my mate. Then suddenly the mist came back and swallowed her whole, blocking my sight of her completely._

"_Warren!" She screamed franticly._

"_Bella!"_

_I threw myself at the barrier, clawing and throwing my entire weight at it, hoping if I kept attacking the same spot again and again it would give. But it seemed pointless, the glass just wouldn't break, not even crack under relentless assault. I screamed and clawed and punched my frustration into the wall, feeling something inside me snap as I lost my self-control. My pendant didn't flare up to drain me of my temper, and I was quick to realize that it wasn't working because it was on the other side of the glass in pieces. _

_Bella screamed for me again. The hysterical cries of my Imprint only fueled my frenzy further. I could feel my body start shifting over as fire ran though my veins, liquid heat dripping down my spine and limbs, my face contorting as my Beast started to take over. I fought back against the phasing as best I could, but I needed to get to Bella. She needed me damn it!_

_The wall, after pounding at it for what seemed ages, finally gave and shattered. Though as triumph was quick to enter me as it fell to shards at my feet, it was just as quick to leave as I went to take my first step into the mist. I was halted in my tracks by restraints at my hands and neck. _

_I was chained, like a wild animal._

"_Bella!" I called, though it sounded more like an agonizing roar, or howl. _

"_Warren!"_

_That was the last thing I heard before there was a choked scream, followed by the nauseating sound and smell of blood being coughed up by a helpless victim. _

"_Bells!" I cried franticly. "Bells! Answer me!"_

_The mist cleared again and I saw the menacing shape of a large beast, a limp figure in its fanged jaws. Tears welled in my eyes as Bella was revealed to me once more, soaked in blood, her throat in the clutches of the demonic thing that attacked her. Blood flowed heavy from her neck and lips, her eyes dull and half dead as they found mine. "Bella," I whimpered. "Bella baby, stay with me! I'll get you!" Her body lurched as her mouth leaked red foam, her eyes rolling back into her head as she convulsed with the trauma her body suffered._

"_Bella no!" I fought against the chains now, but unlike the walls they snapped easily and I ran towards her. "No, no! Don't you die on me!" I could feel it, her life ebbing away, her heart slowly dying next to mine. "Not you too!" It killed me, it made my chest hurt with a pain I couldn't describe. But as I got closer my body collided with yet another god damn wall. I screamed in frustration, in agony, in despair as Bella's connection slowly faded from me. "Not you too damn it! No!" The beast hissed and released Bella, letting out an ear splitting howl at the success of its hunt. Her body fell in a broken mess to the ground. The mere sight of it shattered my heart to pieces._

_Bella moaned in pain, turning her mangled body towards me as she tried to speak. However, when her eyes met mine, they weren't hers. They weren't the unique chocolate eyes that first captured my soul. They were instead deep blue and silver specked orbs that held me in a dream-like trance. My body went limp, my crying ceased, and I was completely at the mercy of those eyes. As I stared further everything else melted away, brunette hair fading into dark rowan, pink lips paled, and the voice that stopped me in my bedroom with Bella came from them, but in a different accent and language…but I understood it._

"_Forgive yourself lover…"_

_I shook my head, trying to get rid of the light headed, vertigo feeling that took over. _

"_Forgive yourself…" she repeated in that foreign voice. Then her eyes glazed as Death's Veil passed over her. _

_That familiar, lovely, heartwarming voice…why did it resonate so clearly with me?_

_I felt a weight in my hand; I looked down to see a knife, blood dripping from the blade. I heard children crying from the abyss, a man screaming, people sobbing. A fire blazing. The scars on my face felt like they tore open and were bleeding, freshly inflicted. I shut my eyes tight and then snapped them open when the beast snarled at me. I looked at it dazed yet challenging, daring it to come and fight me. As it reached the glass it morphed and became human. It took the same slouched position I was in on the other side of the glass and stared at me. When my vision refocused and my brain made the connection my heart stopped. _

_The beast, the one that mauled Bella, killed the strange woman whose voice haunts me-_

_It _was_ me._

I gasped and shot up from my bed. My hands clawed at my throat, my body covered head to toe in a cold, sticky sweat. I could feel my eyes bulging out of my skull and my lungs work franticly to catch even a single breath. It took a few minutes to gather myself, watching in a buzzed daze as sunlight slanted through the break in my bedroom curtains. I took the heel of my hand and pressed it to my chin, using a small amount of pressure to crack my neck in one direction then the next.

"Damn." I cursed to myself. "Again with the fuckin' nightmares."

I rolled from bed and balled up my sheets, tossing them into the hamper for later washing. I padded into the hall and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower and think back on the crazy dream I just endured.

None of it made sense at the moment, it was all just a jumbled mess of words and pictures, but it made me feel…I don't know, off my game I guess. My heart was throbbing, and my side was acting up again. But it wasn't like shit like this hasn't happened before, for someone like me freaky things like this were of the norm. Though this dream, everything that's been happening since Bella and I hooked up made me think something else was going on entirely. I couldn't understand it, the maze, the mirrors, the beast, Bella turning into this other woman…

I washed and scrubbed until I was free of Shifter stink and then walked out topless to make myself coffee. It was a school day but I didn't plan to go in, and there really wasn't a point since the school day was already half over. Bella would kill me, but once I let her in on the dream thing she'd cool down.

As the pot was brewing I went back into the bathroom and just stared at myself. I didn't catch it at first, but there was something up with me. I looked off, more worn down, and looking a hell of a lot older then I was. I was a bit bulkier too, but that wasn't too strange. Shifters had the tendency to have high muscle mass, though in females, particularly of the Feline breed, it was a rare thing to see. I wasn't all buffed out like Gabe or my father, but I definitely did look broader then I usually do…my jaw was more prominent too…and did my stomach always look that sculpted? I looked more closely at my physique, noting any subtle changes I caught.

What the fuck was goin' on with me lately? First the voice, then memory lapses…was I hallucinating too?

I shook it off and chalked it up to all the training I was doing with recruits, it must be building back the muscle I lost from not being constantly engaged. Being around my Pride was also kind of a culture shock, I mean I've been living in human society for years, being back in Shifter territory was a lot to take in. And being in a relationship again put me more out of wack. I've been a loner for years; being back in the swing of things is screwing with my head. That had to be it.

I padded back to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee, hoping the jolt of caffeine would make my brain work properly. I sighed and leaned on the counter to stare out the window, at the barren trees and milling humans walking up and down the streets. I focused on them a while, noting how ritual life was for these simple creatures.

There were a lot of them out today, enough to clog up the sidewalks and shops. This part of town wasn't usually this busy during the week. I sipped at my coffee, savoring the bitter taste as I looked on at the bystanders. Suddenly my attention was caught at a boy staring at me through my kitchen window. He wasn't awfully young, into his early teens if I wasn't mistaken, but what really got to me was the way his eyes caught mine, like I was familiar to him. The boy pulled at me, and I had the strangest urge to run down and protect him.

He was pale skinned, short raven hair and almond shaped eyes set in a round face. He was clearly Asian, but there was something in those eyes…something so familiar…

A man came to stand next to the boy. He was Asian also, but he had a patch over his right eye. He followed the boy's gaze to me and my pendant started burning again. My head and chest exploded and I collapsed against the counter. I clenched my teeth to contain my screams as I fought against bouts of nausea and vertigo to stay conscious. Sweat broke out across my body, my heart racing so fast inside my ribcage I thought for sure it'd explode. My vision blacked out and for a few moments I thought I was going to lose it or pass out, or both. In frustration I slammed my fist against a cabinet and felt it splinter to pieces under my blow. Something inside me snapped and just as sudden as it had happened the episode was over, and I was slumped against the cabinets struggling for my breath.

I sat there for a few moments to regain my senses. Why? Why was all this happening to me? I tried to get up but was too weak and fell back. I shut my eyes and tried to calm myself. My muscles were trembling against my bones, my teeth were tearing apart the inside of my mouth…I could taste the blood as it pooled in. I was dangerously close to shifting over. I was weakened enough to let it happen.

The phone rang and I struggled to my feet, my vision blurring as I searched for the phone. I finally managed to get a hold of it and swallowed the blood in my mouth.

"H-hel…" I shook my head to clear the fog and coughed to take the slur from my voice. "Hello?"

"Hey Warren, its Gabe. You alright?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and coughed again; feeling like someone just kicked me in the ribs. "Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Rough night."

"Well I was just checking to see if you were coming in to practice today, the soldiers are looking forward to this lesson you're teaching."

"I can't come teach today bro." I said as calmly as I could. "I-I…Uh, something came up. It's important."

"What, nothing serious right? You never miss a lesson."

"It's nothing…I just…need some time alone. You know how it is. Got…something I need to tend to."

"Yeah…"

I heard him trail off, he had more to say. So I waited and took the moment to gather myself more fully.

"Warren what happened?" He asked again. "Tell me what's going on."

"Nothing, I already told you man. I had a rough night, night terrors and shit."

"Again?" He sounded concerned. "Do I need to come over?"

"No!" I said quickly. "No, just…take over for me today bro. I need a breather…"

He sighed deeply, I knew he still had the drive to drop everything to check on me, but he knew training the recruits was critical to this upcoming fight. Gabe knew I wouldn't want him to delay this because I was fraying. He knew I could handle my own…at least I hoped I could.

"Alright Warren, but just for today. You're not getting off training duty so easily." He tried to sound joking. But I knew him too well.

"Don't worry bro. I'm fine, really. I'll see ya soon."

"Yeah, love ya sis."

"You too."

I hung up and held my head on my hands, which was still throbbing horribly. My body was also still trembling, and sweat had broken out across my body again. "So much for a damn shower." I grumbled.

I took another one and ended up vomiting all the acid in my stomach. I almost didn't have the strength to crawl out of the shower, the vertigo was so overpowering. I stumbled to my bedroom and collapsed on the bed, and laid there for quite some time.

Wrong. Everything was just…wrong.

Then just when I didn't think things couldn't get worse, they did. Horrible flashes came to me, memories I didn't recall ever happening, voices that didn't sound familiar yet did. Arguing, screaming, crying, blood, death…

Gunshots. I swear I heard gunshots, and snarling. Flashes of black over a white surface, fire, fighting with someone, and hellish storms all raged inside my skull, threating to burst it wide open any second. Voices, flashbacks; I didn't know how much longer I could handle this onslaught.

However, just like the episode in the kitchen this assault was quick to leave as well.

I needed Bella. That's all I thought as my mind came reeling back to reality.

I wanted my mate here. I wanted her to sit here with me and stroke my hair, to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay because she was going to help me through it…all I had to do was call. She'd be here with one call.

But I couldn't. As much as I wanted her here, I couldn't let Bella see me like this. Seeing me punch and throw a few things was something I could get over, but this, me weak and sick and confused, lying naked in my bed and unable to move a single muscle…that was something I just couldn't handle her witnessing. When my mother came home piss drunk and I had to watch her stumble blind to the bathroom to puke her brains out, than haul her dead weight to bed, I was distraught. Watching my mother in that state killed me because I couldn't do anything but sit there and nurse her back to health. However growing up day in and out with that routine coupled with caring for her hung over ass in the morning and it got old pretty quick, especially when I was forced to miss school and ended up a grade behind. But the sight I'd never forget, a few times I actually thought she was dying on me.

No. I'd suffer through it, just to save Bella from the mental scar.

With that in mind I dragged myself from bed and got dressed, making myself a thermos of coffee before walking out. I locked up and forced myself across the street to the studio. Once there I took a breather on the vintage sofa, leaning my head back as my heart pounded in my ears. First the dream, then the boy, the damn episode, and now this. All this shit happening at once, it wasn't a coincidence. No way.

Well fuck. It was bound to happen someday I guess.

I've fought it all for so long, tried to swallow it all down and now it was forcing its way back up to tear me a new one. Life was such a bitch, couldn't just wait till all this new shit passed. I pressed the heels of both my hands as tears began to sting my eyes.

Why?

That's all I could ask myself, why. Why was my life so screwed up? Why wasn't anything going the way it was supposed to? I'm a good person, I swear to whoever's up there I do my best to be better than I was yesterday. I try so damn hard but all the effort seems wasted. I'm so fucking useless!

"Get yourself together Walker!" I snapped at myself. "No tears, Walkers don't waste them."

And that was true. Tears were sacred to us Walkers; they were only to be shed when necessary. This was no cry worthy situation. I rubbed the tears from my eyes and sat up, leaning forward on my knees to think.

Triggers, think of triggers. The dream, which was oddly still fresh in my mind, was the first thing I could think of. The kid and that guy on the sidewalk were obviously next. If I hadn't seen them then I wouldn't have had the episode in the first place.

But where were the connections, what was the relations between them and the dream and the episode?

Without thinking I got up to my desk and began to sketch. After a few minutes of that I went to shading and coloring, then sculpting. Soon enough I was doing my Jack of Art Trades, from drawing, to painting, to chiseling, to sculpting, to wire working. It was the only way I could process my thoughts. I was known back at the Pride to carve wood while at meetings or on organized hunts, just because it helped me think more clearly. I figured the more I created the more clear the answers would be to the questions swimming around in my head.

Though it seemed no matter how much I worked nothing added up. But I couldn't stop, because the more I kept myself at it the less I hurt and the less I was focused on the way I was feeling before. Nothing else existed but me and my art. I didn't feel anything. I was just…focused.

And soon enough I was just…

Gone.

so? did i slip up or is it good as always? oh and quick question, if, hypotheticly to say...oh a zesty chapter were to appear in the next couple of chapters, how would you expect them to go down? just a thought of course ;)

input Lovlies! i live for them, the faster i get them the quicker the chapers come, and don't be shy to drop me a PM if you have questions or ideas, i wont bite i promise lol. in short, press the pretty button, write a wicked awesome review, and the next installment will be posted in the blink of an eye!


	21. The Studio Part 2

alright, i know its been almost a year since my last update, but i got a good excuse! i just moved and im still trying to settle myself in, and there's been this war within the family, so needless to say i have like no time to write my fanfiction. but don't fret my darling lovelies, for i have a nice juicy chapter for you to enjoy ;)

as per usual, Twilight does not belong to me, it belongs to Stephine Meyer. i own the plot, my badass OC Warren Walker, and any other OC character here.

enjoy the much antisipated chapter 21!

* * *

Bella's P.O.V.

I walked into my home and tossed my bag on the couch, sighing as I went into the kitchen to make myself coffee. I pressed the button on the answering machine as I walked by, listening to the messages as I fixed myself a mug of the energy supplying brew, trying to keep myself as occupied as possible.

_Four new messages. _

_ *Beep*_

There was a message from one of the guys at the station for dad, another from Billy about a fishing trip being canceled, one from a neighbor about a stolen car…

It's been a little over a week since I last saw Warren. I wouldn't have been bothered by it, except…she hasn't contacted me at all, and no one will tell me where she went. I started worrying when she didn't show up for school one day, though Gabe assured me it was just because she was training the new recruits. But Warren always called, or she would send a Runner to tell me if she wasn't able to see me. This time there was nothing. I've had the feeling something was wrong for days, but I steered clear of the Pride because, well Warren wasn't with me. However I was snooping around, or I should say I've had some people do some snooping for me. Jake and the other Wolves were doing what they could. I even had a few Pride members digging into Warren's whereabouts.

So far, I had nothing to go on.

I just wish she would've just sent something, anything to ease this anxiety I've felt-

"Hey, Bella." A gravel-tone voice called over the answering machine. "It's me, Jake." I perked up instantly at the sound. Jacob said he'd call as soon as he had any good information. "I'm calling about the...uh, cat you told us to look for. We found her, but the guys and I couldn't...get to her. She's fine, a little rattled…but she's fine…" There was a slight pause, and a deep sigh. "Just…uh, call back when you get this, okay?"

*_Beep_*

_End of messages._

I stood there a moment, going over Jake's words before lunging for the phone. I quickly dialed his number, and it took three rings before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

It was Billy, but it was close enough. "Billy its Bella. Is Jake home? He left a message on my answering machine and told me to call him as soon as I got it."

"He's out on a run, but why don't you stop by? He's told me you've been quite anxious for the past few days."

"Thanks Billy, but I'm really busy-"

"Maybe I can help you about this missing cat you've been searching for."

I felt my jaw slack and it took a moment to gather my bearings. "Do you…" I began softly. "Know what happened?"

"Why don't you stop by? Phone conversations aren't my specialty."

And by specialty, he meant he didn't trust the lines not being tapped. Neither did Jake, which was why he was trying so hard to cover up his search for Warren. Warren herself even told me she believed Victoria to be skilled enough to have these Newborns bug my home, so I understood the need for secrecy.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

I hung up and got a thermos ready for my road trip, thinking I'd share it with Billy once I got there. As I sped down the road, thinking of finally figuring out the whereabouts of my girlfriend, I just caught sight of a car barreling down the wrong side of the road...

And straight for me.

I screamed and swerved out of its path, just missing it clipping my bumper. I slowed down and pulled off into the gravel, grabbing at my chest as panic gripped at my heart.

"Oh god." I gasped. "Oh..."

I shut my eyes and rested my forehead on the steering wheel, trying to regain my breathing.

I was alive,

Nothing happened.

I was fine.

Warren would've had a fit if she were here, I thought to myself with a short laugh. She would've swerved around and followed that car, make the guy pull over and chew his head off. "Da fuck were ya doin' asswipe?" I said to myself softly, mocking Warren's snarling, New Yorker tone. "Ya almost gave my girl a heart attack! You're lucky I don't take a bat to you and your fuckin' car!" I laughed again; starting down the road again as my panic magically disappeared. I pulled up to Billy's a little while later just as the door swung open. The older man greeted me warmly when I approached.

"Bella! It's been too long, how's your old man?" he asked me as if we didn't just speak on the phone just minutes before.

I smiled at Billy and offered my thermos of coffee, which he took gratefully as he wheeled himself back inside. "Dad's fine, he's been out on call a lot lately."

He grunted as I followed him into the kitchen. "With all this trouble brewing I wouldn't doubt it." He said solemnly.

I got us both mugs and we moved to the living room so we could chat more casually, I was still feeling edgy from Billy's last comment, but tried not to seem fazed.

"So..." I began softly, avoiding the Elder's eyes as I spoke. "I'm guessing you know. About Warren and I."

"You'd have to be blind and stupid to not see the relationship flowering between you two." Billy said. "Besides, you made it pretty obvious with all the worrying you've been doing lately."

I looked up to see he was smiling warmly at me, as if my sexuality was nothing to be thinking too hard about. It felt nice to see it. I've been fighting with myself to figure out what I should do now that Warren Imprinted on me, it's been hard without having her around to talk to. It's not like I know a lot of other gay people after all. Well, there was Quin and Cujo, but for some reason they haven't been around much lately either. "I haven't been too open about it." I began to say sheepishly. "I'm just...it's still new to me, you know?"

"You're thinking too much about it, that's why it still bothers you." Billy countered. "Being a lesbian is nothing to be ashamed of Bella. Be happy your situation is easy, Charlie was probably doing the jig when he found out he'd never had to deal with boys again." he laughed, then fell silent when I turned my face away from him. "You haven't told him." he stated with a sigh. "Bella you can't keep this from him, he'd be the last person to reprimand you, trust me."

"I know." I whispered, clutching at my mug. "I just can never find the right time to bring it up, that's all."

"The sooner you tell him, the better off you are." Billy advised. "I think you'd rather tell him outright yourself then have him catch you and Warren and it be a surprise."

A strained silence fell between us, so I decided to change the subject to the one that brought me out here in the first place. "So, did someone find out what happened to Warren?"

Billy sighed again, his eyes wary as he looked at me. "Seth found her locked up in her studio, said she looked totally engrossed in her art. Hasn't left in days. Gabe finally told us it's because she must've had a mental break. He wouldn't let in on what triggered it, said he didn't know. He thought it would be best to just keep it on the down low until she snapped out of it, which included keeping you out of the loop. However, I figured that if anyone can snap Warren back to reality, it'd be her mate."

"So everyone knew about this, but me." I said with an icy tone. "Of course, like usual. Keep the frail, little human in the dark when it comes to her mate. Let her stew." I sipped angrily at my drink, now uncaring of the scalding liquid burning the tender tissue inside my mouth.

"Now Bella, you got to understand. Gabe was only acting in the best interest of everyone. Warren can be extremely unstable right now; no one knows how she will react when approached. No one wants to see you hurt, that's why no one has told you anything. If Warren harmed you in any way, shape or form it would devastate her and leave you vulnerable to attack. Try and see it from a Shifter's perspective. We think about every possible outcome and every individual it can affect."

I tried to take in his words, but they just wouldn't sink in correctly. I was still bristling about being lied to, again, and being left in the dark, again, by people I was supposed to be able to put my trust in. Well, today I was going to put my foot down. I wasn't going to just sit here and expect answers to fall into my lap. That obviously wasn't going to happen, so I had to go search for them myself.

"I need to see her." I stated to Billy sternly. "I need to be with Warren, now."

Billy smiled knowingly, which made my demanding tone falter a bit. "I know Bella." He told me gently. "And you will, as soon as Jake comes back from patrol."

"Why do I have to wait? I can just go now." I said to him, rising from my seat and taking both our mugs to the kitchen. He followed close behind.

"Well, for one thing it never hurts to have back up on call if things should go sour," he began carefully, treading lightly when he saw me bristle again. "And Warren, being in the state she is, might not be able to control her...uh...urges at the current, so having a powerful yet familiar male figure standing by will make her less likely to...jump you."

My face colored deeply at his words. Did Billy really just say Warren might actually make an advance on me now, while her mind was in shambles? It was likely...but just thinking about it made me feel both ashamed and slightly aroused. Warren and I haven't really discussed our intimacy since last she made it clear she wouldn't pressure me. Though picturing Warren's callused hands on my body, her lips touching places that have never been touched before...

"I guess you have a point." I said to Billy in a soft tone, now feeling slightly awkward.

"So you'll wait for Jake?" Billy asked, as if making me promise silently I wouldn't go running off on my own.

"Yeah, I'll wait for Jake." I grumbled.

The corners of Billy's aged face crinkled as he smiled. "Good. Now come and sit down, there are some things I'd like to discuss with you further."

Billy spent the next half hour or so showing me newspaper articles he's saved of attacks and robberies he believed to be the work of Victoria's army. He explained the pack's findings and their encounters with Newborns. He made sure by the time Jake finally arrived to take me to Warren; I was well informed of everything that's been going on since Warren's disappearance. I felt so anxious, and frankly scared by all the information that I was told, but I took it the way Warren would've and made myself believe that the more I knew, the better off I was.

Jacob and I didn't really speak to each other the whole car ride. There was nothing to say. He knew I was determined to get to Warren as quickly as possible, and he was just as quick to get me to her. He led me to her studio, though he made us stop at the entrance. He gave me a worried look, yet it was contained by a well-controlled, slightly aged face. Even though Jake was young, this whole Shifting and vampire business made him grow up faster than anyone should have. I almost wanted to cry for him.

"You sure you want to go in there by yourself?" he asked me carefully. It was one of the few things we did talk about on the ride here. I specifically asked that he wait outside and allow me to go in on my own, he didn't seem too keen on the idea.

"Yes." I told him calmly. "Warren isn't going to hurt me Jake, I'll be fine. If I need you I'll yell."

"Okay." he said, but leaned against the outside door as I let myself in. "I'll be waiting right here."

I took a deep breath and went in. I climbed the stairs to the loft, feeling my insides knot tightly with each step. I didn't know who I would see when I reached the top. Would she be angry, scared...or something else? I wasn't sure. There were only a few lights on when I finally reached the top step, the air smelled of a mixture of paint and some kind of burning herb...

"Bells?" a voice called out.

My heart broke because it sounded so wounded, so frail...unlike the strong tones of the woman I fell in love with. I walked further into the room, scanning the space with my eyes until I saw a figure sitting against a nearby wall. I rushed to it, knowing by the dim glint of emerald eyes that it was my mate. I crouched down and reached out to touch her face, recoiling a little when I felt it was wet. "Baby, have you been crying?" I asked her softly. She nuzzled into one of my hands, clutching at them as if they were lifelines. "I don't know what's going on Bella." she whispered brokenly. "It hurts so badly, and I don't know why!" I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms tightly around her. At the moment all I knew was I had to comfort her, Warren wasn't one to be vulnerable. Ever. Something had to have happened to trigger this...whatever it was.

"Talk to me Warren." I urged her softly. "Tell me everything, let me help you."

Her hands gripped at the fabric on my back, her face pressed into my neck as her crying slowly ebbed away. "I just...hear these voices and have these dreams and visions...they mean something to me...I just don't know what." she loosened herself a bit from my embrace, looking me in the eyes as she continued to speak. "I've been trying to figure it all out for days now, I don't think I've eaten or slept, I just keep creating stuff to help jog my memory, to see if I remember any of this shit that's coming back to haunt me." she got up and pulled me with her, walking over to open the few curtains that kept the room in darkness. As soon as sunlight was allowed to flood in, I could see why no one has seen Warren. The studio was practically filled with creations, I couldn't even count how many pieces Warren crafted over her absence. I saw carvings, paintings, sculptures, and even complete outfits. The only thing I could discern was that everything seemed to be Asian in design. Japanese really, because I recognized kimono clad women and samurai in her work.

"What does all of this mean?" I asked her softly.

"I have no fuckin' clue." she admitted with an irritated growl. "no one's tellin' me shit."

"What do you mean?"

A sudden flash of rage passed over her face, but it was quickly tamped down when she looked down at me. "I went to my brother a couple days after I had my...breakdown. He kept appearing in my...flashbacks...and he kept being all vague an shit when I questioned him. We got into it. Gave me this." she tugged down her shirt collar and revealed healing bite marks on her collarbone. I gasped, but she waved it off. "I kicked his ass. Didn't even have to Shift over." she assured me. "Fuckin nimrod thought he could make me submit to him. He may be my brother, he may be Alpha, but no fuckin' way was I gonna allow him to defeat Me." she shook her head. "But anyways, he wouldn't answer my questions, and he ordered everyone in the Pride to keep their traps shut if I went to them. He was keepin' something from me, and he hoped the longer he kept me at bay the quicker I'd let it die...but I wasn't gonna let it go. I needed to know what the hell was going on in my head Bells, I almost lost myself to my Beast...I almost killed someone the other day." she admitted quietly. I squeezed her hand, reassuring her I was still here. The small action seemed to sooth her, and she continued her explanation.

"I went out for air, thinkin' I just needed to clear my head a bit before I went back up to work...than this jogger came by. He was just minding his own business, and he got his foot caught on somethin' and he tripped, tore skin and started bleedin..." her hand trembled in mine, but I silently urged her on. "I...tracked him Bells, like an animal." she whispered. "I've _never _hunted down, or killed a human in my entire existence. Not like a beast, never like that. But I just couldn't help it, I wasn't thinking right...I followed him home. I was ready to pounce him...than his kid came out and hugged him...and I ran right back to the studio. Went right back to work...didn't come back out. That's why I haven't contacted you." she added softly.

"You didn't want to hurt me." I said, though it hurt to say the words.

She nodded. "If I hurt you Bells..." tears rolled down her face as she shut her eyes and turned away from me. I turned her face back, kissing her lips softly as I pulled her close. Her arms folded around me, her lips pressing harder to mine as I weaved my fingers into her hair and pulled. "Warren, let me help." I mumbled against her mouth. My hands tentatively slipped under her shirt, my palms running over scarred skin as they traveled up her back. She moaned, pressing me harder to her. I backed away, shivering under her primal stare as I shed my shirt in front of her. A soft snarl emitted from parted lips, her fangs poking through and making me warm in places I didn't know could...well get warm.

"Oh, baby please." she whined. "I don't think..."

Warren trailed off when I stepped back over to her, pressing my almost bare chest against her as I began kissing my way down her neck. I paid close attention to her brother's bite marks, knowing the skin was still quite sensitive. She half moaned, half growled, panting as my hands roamed under her shirt again. "Touch me Warren." I whispered to her. "You haven't in so long, it's been driving me crazy." my back was imminently pressed against a wall, hands above my head. I arched into her, craving this dominance since the day I experienced it. Her eyes burned into mine, the emerald sharp as shards as her lust pierced right into my core. "Bella, I don't know." she panted. "This can't be safe." at the growing grin on her face I laughed, because she knew how ridiculous I thought that sounded, and then moaned when her leg pressed between my thighs.

"That sound drives me over." she groaned. "I want to fuck you right here against this wall, on my bench, on the floor, the couch..." she kissed me with each destination and the heat just continued to grow. Spreading through my veins, pulsing all over and collecting deep in my belly. Each press of her leg between my thighs ignited this incredible, agonizing pleasure that had me crying out against her lips. She only drank them in, feeding off of my reactions as if they were the only sustenance she needed to survive. Warren pulled me from the wall only to lead me over to the couch nearby, plopping herself down into the cushions and pulling me onto her lap. She leaned back to better take in the view of my almost bare body and I blushed under the heavy gaze.

"You're beautiful baby." she told me, as if sensing my unease as tender fingers swept across my collarbone.

"You're eyes make me nervous...I've never been looked at with such intensity." I admitted as her hands traced the contours of my body.

She took in my words, contemplating them for a moment before smirking. "Then maybe the dark will make you more confident." she gently eased me off of her and went over towards the windows, closing the curtains and sending the room back into darkness. I couldn't see anything now, it was all pitch black. I jumped when hands touched my shoulders, and I heard a soft chuckle in my ear.

"Relax Bella." she told me, keeping her hands on me as she eased us back easily into our previous positions. My heart pounded inside my chest, my hearing and sense of touch increasing tenfold without my sight to guide me. I could still catch Warren's heavy panting, her spicy smell as she leaned into me. "Nervous now?" she mumbled as she nibbled at my skin. I moaned softly as I pressed into her. Surprisingly enough, the darkness calmed me. But one thing still bothered me.

"Can you...see me at all?"

She only laughed again. "I know my way around a woman's body Bells, trust Me." her hands drifted to my back, fingering the clasps to my bra. She waited a moment, checking my reaction before skillfully unclasping the fixtures with one hand. I gasped as the cups fell free from my breasts, exposing them to the cool air of the room. My body shivered as her hands ran up next to them, slowly, and her lips trailed just above them. My hands grabbed her shoulders when her hands finally palmed my breasts, holding them firmly as her teeth nipped at the tender flesh.

"You taste amazing baby." she whispered. "They're perfect."

I cried out when she began to tease my hardening nipples, gently rolling them between her fingers as her mouth explored the newly exposed mounds of skin. I felt myself slowly come undone under her skilled ministrations, the heat in my belly turning into an inferno as the pressure between my thighs increased. After a while I noticed she had placed one of her hands there, and I was grinding against it as her other hand and mouth continued to work on my breasts. "Mm Warren." I groaned into her ear, pressing my forehead against her neck as pressure increased between my legs. She growled and her movements became more passionate, more primal. in the haze of my own lust I actually had to stop her, because as much as I loved feeling this good I realized just then I've never touched Warren the way she's touched me.

"Warren, mmm, wait." I told her breathlessly.

I could feel her breath; warm against my neck as she trailed her lips back up to kiss me.

"Yeah Bells?"

Her voice was deliciously low, masculine just like the day she pinned me to her bed. I shivered as the memory came back to me. I could feel her heated eyes look at me from the depths of the darkness surrounding me, and as my hands reached for her a noise rumbled from deep within her chest, a beastly kind of sound that heightened my arousal significantly.

"I want to touch you Warren." I whispered.

She chuckled from the dark; I could practically hear the smirk in her voice. "Oh do ya now?"

"Yes." I said, this time more firmly. Her lips paused their trailing across my chest, and for a split second I thought I killed the moment right there.

Oh boy, I was wrong. "alright." she said with a final kiss, although her voice and movements now felt unsure. She shifted us so we were both kneeling on the couch now I could feel her pressed against me, her breathing just as ragged as mine. The blinding darkness heightened my skin's sensations, every touch was magnified, every movement felt like a pulse of energy being shot down to the very center of my being. Her spicy smell overwhelmed me and I almost didn't catch what she said as she continued to speak. "I got two conditions for you to follow." she told me, her tone half serious half heated. "You can't touch here." she palmed my breasts, making me gasp and arch into her touch. "Or here." her knee again pressed in between my thighs, causing this strangled cry to escape me. "Capise?" she whispered as she nibbled my ear. While normally this would have concerned me greatly, in this exact moment I didn't really care. I had my green light to touch, so I went with it. "So, with that said, I can touch you here?" I ran my hands up her shirt, again skimming over her muscled stomach, the strong planes of her back. She moaned and shivered. "yeah." she said gruffly. "What about here?" I dropped my hands down to her waist, slipping my hands into her jean pockets and squeezing her ass slightly. She snarled and kissed me fiercely, and I responded back in kind. Oh god, this was so amazing. I've never felt so charged with energy, so alive and overwhelmed...it felt wonderful. Beyond anything I've ever felt.

Then she stiffened against me, and everything stood frozen. Time, us, our breathing. Everything stopped.

"Bells." she said carefully, slowly easing us back to our feet. I felt apprehension build inside my chest, anxiety clutching my already erratic heart as the serious tone of her voice settled in. what on earth could possibly have happened now?

Warren gripped tightly at my hand, which trembled against in mine.

"Don't freak out baby, but there's a vampire outside the building."

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alrighty, chapter 21 is finished! what did ya guys think? yes, i know a cliff hanger, we all hate them, but i hope it keeps you all coming back and checking in on me XD

to all my wonderful readers and reviewers, i'm so sorry for the delay! trust me, i haven't forgotten about you all, or this story (Warren has been on my ass for months about writing more chapters, so trust that i will update more often)

hopefully the next chapter gets this much excitment, 69 collective reviews! crazy, i didn't even think this story would get so much hype!

tune in for chapter 22, i swear it'll be a doozy!


	22. Deliria

hello lovelies! its two days before m graduation, so i decided to celebrate with a new chapter! i won't keep you all from waiting, go and enjoy! (and don't be too mad at me...)

most characters and plot belong to Stephanie Meyer, i own most other characters and my badass OC Warren Walker.

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Warren's P.O.V.

"What?" Bella half exclaimed at me, crossing her arms over her breasts as fear came to her eyes.

My inner beast growled at loss of the sight and feel of those incredible works of art, but regardless I shed my shirt and gave it to her. I found a jacket nearby and tossed it on. "There is a vampire in this building, and I need you to stay calm. Can you do that?" I asked her in a more calming voice. After putting on my shirt she nodded.

"Yeah, I can do that."

I smiled at her. "That's my girl."

I reached my hand out and she took it, it trembled slightly in my grip. I pulled her close to me as I led her out of the room, making sure to grab my gun and knife on the way out. I pressed the handle of the blade into her hands, leaning in close so I could whisper into her ear. "I'll go down first; you follow when I give the signal its safe. If he comes up after you, go for the heart. It'll stun him long enough for you to decapitate him. Get a good hold of his hair, pull it up tight, press the blade to one side of his neck and pull across. Might take two or three good cuts since you're human."

She looked at me wide eyed, her face paling as I cocked the gun. "I-I can't do that!" she gasped.

"There's a good chance you won't have to." I assured her. "But you need to protect yourself, training you for this shit shoulda been my first priority..." I shook my head, dissipating the anger that welled up inside me. "Stay here." I told her firmly, and then jumped down soundlessly to the room below. I backed myself into the dark as a large shape tumbled into the room, snarling and snapping at another figure in its grasp. I smelled both vampire and Shifter in the air. For Bella's safety if nothing else, I darted out and pistol whipped the Shifter off the vampire, and pinned the threat on his stomach as I pressed the barrel into the back of his head.

"This is one hell of a welcome Walker!" the vampire wheezed below me.

I growled and clocked the man with the side of my barrel. "Damn it Miles!" I snapped at the Nomad as he groaned. "I coulda killed your stupid ass ya twit faced blood monkey!"

I left him on the ground and stormed over to the Shifter, now in his human skin, and gave him a good bitch slap with my pistol. I realized it was Jacob, a Wolf from the Rez, but that didn't ease my anger at him. "And you, you fuckin' nitwit, the fuck were you thinkin' shifting in sight of humans!" my pendent spiked in heat as my anger levels rose, but I was too pissed to care. "Bells! Get your ass down here, false alarm!" I called up the ladder.

She came down, her eyes wide as she looked at the scene before her. "That was...quick." she said. I gave her my hand and helped her down, noticing she was still trembling slightly. I took back the knife and shoved it in my jeans, still staring daggers at the two Supernaturals before me.

"Bells, this is Miles Weston, he's a friend of mine from New York." I introduced with a stiff growl. "Miles, the Wolf you were just attacked by is Jacob, an ally from a local Pack, and this woman you scared the shit out of is my mate, Bella."

The vampire rose to his feet, bowing at the waist respectfully. "A pleasure, my dear. I apologize for the unease I caused you."

Jacob grabbed something from the corner of the room, a pair of pants, and tugged them on before coming forward. He gave me a submissive stance, yet he eyed Miles like he'd still like to tear his head off. "Jake, Miles is a good vamp." I told him sternly. "Not all vampires are evil. These days most Packs integrate Vampires into their ranks. Including my own when I lead."

"Excuse me if I haven't had the opportunity to experience anything but bad blood suckers." he growled.

There was a tense silence, and then I got agitated. "Quit the fuckin' looks, would ya?" I barked at them. "Be friendly or I'll make my boots friendly with both your asses, we clear?"

"Crystal." Jake grumbled. "If it's alright with you, I'm gonna wait in the car."

He didn't wait for an answer, he left before anyone said anything. fucking immature puppy, Sam was gonna get one hell of a phone call from me later.

"The hell ya doin' here Miles?" i asked the Vampire.

He chuckled. "I heard you were having some trouble, so I came by to see if you needed my assistance." He said. "I also came to warn you."

"About what?" I groaned. "Don't I got enough shit on my plate as it is?"

"Can we speak somewhere more privet? This matter isn't exactly one a human should hear." Miles asked. "Except for lovely Miss Bella here." he cleared his throat at my short tempered growl. "I saw the news about all those disappearances, it didn't take me long to connect it to a newborn horde." He sighed while rubbing at his neck. "I've only ever seen outbreaks like this three times in my existence...quite a shame really, all those innocent lives lost..." there was a hurt in his eyes, it momentarily softened me.

"How long have you been around?" Bella asked softly.

Miles looked at her, his eyes warm and his smile soft. "Oh, three hundred years, give or take a century or two."

Bella's eyes widened.

"Let's head to my apartment, I could use some coffee." I grumbled as I rubbed at my jaw, aching from my teeth growing and resifting with my mood swings. Bella's hand slipped in mine as we walked out of my studio and right to my apartment. It took me a minute to adjust to my surroundings; after all I'd been cooped up in the dark for a good week or two. Actually, I really don't remember anymore. I just know I was gone awhile and fresh air and light were things I needed to reintroduce myself with.

The real world, this is almost psycho Werepanther, almost psycho Werepanther, this is the real world.

"Why don't you get yourself cleaned up Warren? It smells like you haven't bathed in a while." Miles said with a playful scrunch of his nose, but a tender look in his eyes. "Allow me to prepare food and beverage, and then we can get down to business."

I didn't argue with him. I felt like shit, I could use a nice hot shower, work out the kinks. I looked at Bella, and realized just by the look she was giving me she wasn't gonna budge from my side. She was finally near me; I could only imagine the hell I put her through while I was MIA. I pulled her closer to my side as we walked down the hall and to the bathroom.

"Offer still stands if you feel like taking up on it." I told her as I turned on the shower. "Offer?" she questioned. I smirked. "You can strip down and join me; I can finish what we started. Hot showers make sex amazing, no idea why." I said with a wicked smile and a wink. She only flushed in response, but not from embarrassment. Oh no, my mate here was all fired up.

Funny, I've only ever imagined her like that, all hot and heavy yet confident...

She stepped back from me and slowly unbuttoned my shirt, letting it drop from her shoulders as her hands next went for her jeans. As she pushed the material down those creamy white thighs, the Beast within me stirred and growled possessively. I allowed the noise to leave me as my teeth sharpened, my sight zoning in on my mate's delicious body exposed fully before me.

"Clothes off Warren." Bella said with a surprisingly sultry tone, reaching out her hands to take off my jacket. "Sharing showers require both parties to be naked."

Damn, this was going to be one hell of a shower.

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yes, yes, i know this chapter is short. but trust me, more is to come, a lot more. i plan on having three nice, juicy chapters done in the upcoming weeks, and to be posted back to back. this should answer some questions i have been getting from my readers (do not be afraid to keep asking, i love them!) so keep tuning in! i love all the feedback (last time i checked i had 71 reviews for this one story alone!) and i love hearing from my readers, you guys keep me writing.

in fact, i'm working on a book currently, which is why i haven't been updating as often as i used to. keep checking in for updates on that as well :)

until the next chapters lovelies, keep reading!


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